NASA Shares Spectacular Image Of Constellation Aquila, Located 7,200 Light-Years From Earth

NASA Hubble Space Telescope shared a spectacular image of the constellation Aquila, which lies around 7,200 light-years from Earth. The colour image shows a region called G35.2-0.7N, which is known as a hotbed of high-mass star formulation. The kind of stars that form here are so massive that they will end their lives as destructive supernovae. However, even as they form, they greatly influence their surroundings. 

NASA in the caption mentioned that the image of the light show was taken by NASA Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. "In the constellation Aquila, located about 7,200 light-years from Earth you'll find this massive star formation with a protostellar jet streaming toward us."

Wondering what is a protostellar jet? NASA explains Protostellar jets are enormous, collimated beams of matter ejected from very young stars called protostars. Collimated simply means that the matter is ejected in parallel (column-like) streams, which in turn means that the jets do not spread out much but extend out very far in relatively straight lines.

"When ionization happens, it means that atoms and molecules become charged due to the high-energy environment they are in which causes them to lose some electrons. The protostellar jets have collimated beams of matter that are ejected from young stars called protostars. Collimated means that the matter is ejected in a parallel direction which resembles a column-like shape," the caption read. 

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Since being posted, the picture has collected nearly 3 lakh likes on Instagram. Commenting on the post, a user wrote, "Truly beautiful and wonderful."

"It's incredible, every day that passes I love the universe and its great secrets more," another user wrote.

The third user wrote, "That's so interesting, what a great picture..."