Glow Worm
24 August 2009
Last Updated on 17 May 2010
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Credit: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M.Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA
Some people see a beast rising from a red sea. Others see a pillar or mountain. I see a glow worm.
This giant worm, also known as the Cone Nebula, or NGC 2264, is a nursery for young stars. Already young stars at the top have started to glow, pushing the gas and dust away. Maybe planets have begun to form.
The Cone Nebula lies about 2,500 light years away toward the constellation Monoceros, the unicorn. We are seeing just the upper part of this great column of gas. The entire nebula is 7 light-years long and from Earth it has a conical shape.
Sea monster or worm? What do you think?
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