Seagull Nebula
Colourful and wispy, this intriguing collection of objects is known as the Seagull Nebula, named for its resemblance to a gull in flight. Made up of dust, hydrogen, helium and traces of heavier elements, this region is the hot and energetic birthplace of new stars. The remarkable detail captured here by ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) reveals the individual astronomical objects that make up the celestial bird, as well as the finer features within them. The VST is one of the largest survey telescopes in the world observing the sky in visible light. ESO/VPHAS+ team/N.J. Wright (Keele University)

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) was able to capture an incredible photo of a nebula that closely resembled a massive cosmic seagull flying in space. According to the ESO, the nebula spans about 100 light-years long.

Due to its appearance, the subject of the photo has been labeled as the Seagull Nebula. It was photographed using the ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope in Chile’s Atacama Desert.

The Seagull Nebula is situated between the Canis Major and Monocereos constellations and is located about 3,700 light-years from Earth. The ESO spotted it in one of the spindly arms of the Milky Way galaxy.

According to the ESO, the nebula is composed of distinct clouds of gas. Together, these clouds form the bird-like appearance of the nebula.

“The main components of the Seagull are three large clouds of gas, the most distinctive being Sharpless 2-296, which forms the ‘wings,’” the ESO said in a statement. “Spanning about 100 light-years from one wingtip to the other, Sharpless 2-296 displays glowing material and dark dust lanes weaving amid bright stars.”

These dust lanes are the dark zones that appear in between the orange and purple hues in the photos. They became dark because they are denser compared to the other regions in the nebula. These dust lanes are so dense that they can cover up the luminous clouds.

As for the overall glowing appearance of the nebula, this is caused by a large number of young stars scattered all over the Seagull. According to the ESO, the radiation emitted by these young stars causes the nearby clouds of gas and dust to glow. In addition to their colors, the stars can also affect the shape of the clouds in the nebula.

“It is the radiation emanating from these young stars that give the clouds their fantastical colors and makes them so eye-catching, by ionizing the surrounding gas and causing it to glow,” the ESO stated.

“This radiation is also the main factor that determines the clouds’ shapes, by exerting pressure on the surrounding material and sculpting it into the whimsical morphologies we see,” the observatory added.

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