About This Photograph
The fantastic Rosette Nebula lies at a distance of about 4,900 light-years from Earth, to the left of the torso of Orion the Hunter. Like other emission nebulae, it is a cloud of gas and dust stimulated to emit its own varied hues by the intense ultraviolet radiation coming from the cluster of hot, young stars at its center. Although this nebula can be a challenging object to observe visually, long-exposure photographs such as this one bring out the full extent and beauty of this vast celestial wreath, caught in a blizzard of literally tens of thousands of stars.
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