__NOTOC__
The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an
emission nebula
An emission nebula is a nebula formed of ionized gases that emit light of various wavelengths. The most common source of ionization is high-energy ultraviolet photons emitted from a nearby hot star. Among the several different types of emissio ...
in the constellation
Orion. It is about 900 to 1,500
light-years
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
away.
The bright star
Alnitak (ΞΆ Ori), the easternmost star in the
Belt of Orion
Orion's Belt or the Belt of Orion, also known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters, is an asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka.
Looking for Orion's Belt is the easiest way to lo ...
, shines energetic
ultraviolet light
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...
into the Flame and this knocks electrons away from the
great clouds of hydrogen gas that reside there. Much of the glow results when the electrons and ionized hydrogen recombine. Additional dark gas and dust lies in front of the bright part of the nebula and this is what causes the dark network that appears in the center of the glowing gas. The Flame Nebula is part of the
Orion molecular cloud complex
The Orion molecular cloud complex (or, simply, the Orion complex) is a star-forming region with stellar ages ranging up to 12 Myr. Two giant molecular clouds are a part of it, Orion A and Orion B. The stars currently forming within the complex a ...
, a
star-forming region that includes the famous
Horsehead Nebula
The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33) is a small dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion molecular cloud com ...
.
At the center of the Flame Nebula is a
cluster
may refer to:
Science and technology Astronomy
* Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft
* Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family
* Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...
of newly formed stars,
86% of which have
circumstellar disk
A circumstellar disc (or circumstellar disk) is a torus, pancake or ring-shaped accretion disk of matter composed of gas, dust, planetesimals, asteroids, or collision fragments in orbit around a star. Around the youngest stars, they are the rese ...
s.
X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
observations by the
Chandra X-ray Observatory
The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), previously known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), is a Flagship-class space telescope launched aboard the during STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. Chandra is sensitive to X-ray sources 1 ...
show several hundred young stars, out of an estimated population of 800 stars.
X-ray and infrared images indicate that the youngest stars are concentrated near the center of the cluster.
Gallery
Image:Flame Nebula NGC 2024.jpg, Optical image in B, V and R filters, from La Silla Observatory
La Silla Observatory is an astronomy, astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The obse ...
Image:Ngc2024 2mass.jpg, Infrared image, from 2MASS
The Two Micron All-Sky Survey, or 2MASS, was an astronomical survey of the whole sky in infrared light. It took place between 1997 and 2001, in two different locations: at the U.S. Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona, and ...
Image:The hidden fires of the Flame Nebula.jpg, Near-infrared image, from VISTA
Vista usually refers to a distant view.
Vista may also refer to:
Software
*Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007
*VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...
Image:Spectacular visible light wide-field view of region of Orion's Belt and the Flame Nebula.jpg, Visible light wide-field view of region of Orion's Belt and the Flame Nebula
Image:NGC 2024 seen by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.jpg, NGC 2024 seen by the Chandra X-ray Observatory
Image:The Flame Nebula.jpg, Flame Nebula and Horsehead Nebula
Image:Horsehead and Flame Nebula.jpg, Horsehead and Flame Nebulae in H-alpha
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Sky, 05, 41, 54, -, 01, 51, 00, 1500
Orion molecular cloud complex
NGC objects
Orion (constellation)
Emission nebulae
Sharpless objects
Gould Belt
Star-forming regions