This Hubble image highlights N159, a vast star-forming cloud where young stars ignite within frigid hydrogen gas. Their intense radiation makes the cloud glow red and carves enormous bubbles, exposing the turbulent nature of stellar birth. (Image:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Indebetouw)
Science
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Moneycontrol02-01-2026, 17:33

Hubble Reveals Stellar Birth: Baby Stars Carve Giant Bubbles in Cosmic Cloud N159

  • Hubble's new image shows active star formation in N159, a massive stellar nursery 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
  • N159, located in the constellation Dorado, is a key laboratory for understanding how stars are born from vast cold hydrogen gas clouds.
  • Massive young stars within N159 release strong radiation and stellar winds, heating gas and creating hollow, bubble-like structures.
  • This "stellar feedback" reshapes the cloud, potentially halting star formation in some areas while triggering it in others.
  • An updated Hubble image, including data from an added wavelength, offers deeper insight into star-gas interactions and galaxy evolution.

Why It Matters: Hubble's N159 images reveal how young stars reshape cosmic clouds, offering clues to galaxy evolution.

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