One of Hubble’s masterpieces is an image of the reflection nebula NGC 1999. This satellite image was reprocessed and here is the end result.

NGC 1999 is a so-called reflection nebula. This means that the clouds of gas and dust themselves do not glow. Light from a nearby young star is scattered by dust in the nebula, making the nebula visible. You can compare it to fog spots around a lamppost. The responsible star – V380 Orionis – is visible to the left of center. This star is 3.5 times more massive than the Sun and has a surface temperature of 10,000 degrees Celsius.

For a long time, astronomers thought the dark spot was at the center of NGC 1999 It was a spherical cloud, or a place where star formation occurs. In 2010, scientists came to the conclusion that it is not a spherical cloud, however hole in space. More than a decade later, astronomers still don’t know exactly how this black hole originated. An old puzzle!

NGC 1999 is located 1,350 light-years from Earth and is part of the Orion complex, a group of nebulae, star-forming regions, and star clusters in the constellation of Orion. The most famous member of this family is the Orion Nebula. This nebula can be seen with the naked eye on a dark night as a hazy spot. Also famous The Horsehead Nebula It is part of the Orion complex.