Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2019

52 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 SPACE CHRONICLES by ESO VST captures a celestial gull in flight C olourful and wispy Sharpless 2-296 forms the “wings” of an area of sky known as the Seagull Nebula — named for its resemblance to a gull in flight. This celestial bird contains a fascinating mix of intriguing astronomical objects. Glowing clouds weave amid dark dust lanes and bright stars. The Seagull Nebula — made up of dust, hydrogen, helium and traces of heavier elements — is the hot and energetic birthplace of new stars. [ESO/VPHAS+ team/N.J. Wright (Keele University)] T he main components of the Seagull are three large clouds of gas, the most distinctive be- ing Sharpless 2-296, which forms the “wings”. Spanning about 100 light- years from one wingtip to the other, Sh2-296 displays glowing material and dark dust lanes weaving amid bright stars. It is a beautiful example of an emission nebula, in this case an HII region, indicating active forma- tion of new stars, which can be seen peppering this image. It is the radiation emanating from these young stars that gives the clouds their fantastical colours and makes them so eye-catching, by ion- ising the surrounding gas and caus-