NASA Releases Image of Merry Christmas Wreath Nebula from 1000 Light-years Away

NASA has released an image of how a nebula, which is 1,000 light-years away, is celebrating Christmas.

While we were busy decorating our houses with man-made Christmas ornaments, a Nebula called 'Barnard 3' or IRAS Ring G159.6-18.5 showed off its colors for the fest, by presenting a Christmas wreath.

Astronomers in NASA has explained the image sent by Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. One might picture a wreath in these bright green and red dust clouds -- a ring of evergreens donned with a festive red bow, a jaunty sprig of holly, and silver bells throughout, NASA stated.

Indeed, the yellow-dark green ring looks like a jaunty sprig of holly which completes the Christmas wreath look.

Keeping up with the festive spirit, astronomers have nicknamed it the Wreath nebula. Nebula is a cloud of gas and dust in space. It works as nursery for baby stars to be born.

The green ring (evergreen) is made of tiny particles of warm dust whose composition is very similar to smog found here on Earth. The red cloud (bow) in the middle is probably made of dust that is more metallic and cooler than the surrounding regions. The bright star in the middle of the red cloud, called HD 278942, is so luminous that it is likely what is causing most of the surrounding ring to glow. In fact its powerful stellar winds are what cleared out the surrounding warm dust and created the ring-shaped feature in the first place. The bright greenish-yellow region left of center (holly) is similar to the ring, though more dense. The bluish-white stars (silver bells) scattered throughout are stars located both in front of, and behind, the nebula, NASA said.