Copyright:Justus Falk
中文翻譯:
在遙遠的星空中，有一片美麗的氣體雲彩，距離我們有1,300光年，這就是被稱為Iris Nebula（虹膜星雲）的NGC 7023！這片星雲就像一朵鮮花一樣，在Cepheus（天鵝座）這個星座的星空中綻放。這張深邃的望遠鏡圖片展現了虹膜星雲的多彩色彩和美麗的對稱，周圍環繞著閃閃發光的星際塵埃。虹膜星雲裡面，有一顆年輕又熱的恆星，它把周圍的陸塊染成了耀眼的藍色。這種藍色是因為塵埃顆粒將恆星的光反射出來，可以說是星雲的外衣。虹膜星雲的中央還有一些微弱的紅光，因為有些塵埃能將看不見的紫外線光轉變成可見的紅光。科學家們發現這個星雲裡還有複雜的碳分子，叫做PAHs（多環芳香烴）。整個虹膜星雲的藍色花瓣擴展了大約六光年！
原文:
These cosmic clouds have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile starfields of the constellation Cepheus. Called the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023 is not the only nebula to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this deep telescopic image shows off the Iris Nebula’s range of colors and symmetries embedded in surrounding fields of interstellar dust. Within the Iris itself, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star. The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the reflection nebula glow with a faint reddish photoluminescence as some dust grains effectively convert the star’s invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula contains complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. The dusty blue petals of the Iris Nebula span about six light-years.
來源:NASA每日圖片
