NASA reveals stunning images of nebula Sh2-284

A stunning image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a bright stellar nursery located at the edge of our galaxy. This area, called Sh2-284, is a vast region filled with gas and dust that helps create new stars. It sits 15,000 light-years away from Earth in one of the Milky Way's outer spiral arms. Sh2-284 is special because it contains mostly hydrogen and helium, with very few heavier elements. This is similar to conditions that existed in the early universe. NASA officials noted that this "low-metallicity" environment resembles the time when stars were starting to form heavier elements through nuclear fusion. The picture from Hubble shows one part of the nebula, which is influenced by a young star cluster named Dolidze 25, located just outside the image. The stars in this cluster are between 1.5 and 13 million years old. For comparison, our sun is much older at 4.6 billion years. In emission nebulae like Sh2-284, young stars emit ultraviolet radiation that lights up the surrounding gas, mostly hydrogen. This interaction creates bright, vibrant colors in the nebula. In the recent infrared image, newborn stars shine in bright pink, standing out against the dense dark clouds. The new images released by NASA on March 8 provide valuable insight into how low-metallicity conditions affect star formation. Researchers hope these observations will help us learn more about the early universe.