14 DAY TRIAL // Unlike other cosmic formations, which astronomers name after things that only they can make out, the Pencil Nebula, colloquially known as the witch's broom, actually looks the way its name suggests.
Researchers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) used La Silla Observatory in Chile to image the nebula, which lies in the southern constellation of Vela. It is part of a larger supernova remnant, produced when a massive star blew up, some 11,000 years ago.
Astronomers used the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope's Wide Field Imager (WFI) instrument to collect this breathtaking image of the Pencil Nebula, which is also referred to as NGC 2736.
“By looking at the different colors of the nebula, astronomers have been able to map the temperature of the gas. Some regions are still so hot that the emission is dominated by ionised oxygen atoms, which glow blue in the picture. Other cooler regions are seen glowing red, due to emission from hydrogen,” ESO experts say.