Hubble captures 'perfect storm' in space

A “perfect storm” – a region of turbulent gas and radiation which resembles a raging sea – has been discovered far out in space, scientists disclosed today.

The dramatic image, captured by the United States’ ‘American space agency Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope, shows a small area within a hotbed of star formation called M17.

Also known as the Omega or Swan Nebula, it is located about 5,500 light years away, in the constellation of Sagittarius.

Within the nebula, glowing gas is sculpted into furious looking waves by a torrent of ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars.

The UV light is carving and heating the surfaces of cold hydrogen gas clouds, which in the Hubble image glow orange and red.

Intense heat and pressure cause some material to stream away from the surfaces, creating a luminous veil of even hotter greenish gas that masks background structures.

Pressure on the tips of the waves may trigger new star formation within them.

The image is roughly three light-years across – almost the distance from the Earth to the nearest star.

Different colours are generated by different gases. Red represents sulphur, green hydrogen, and blue oxygen.

The photo is being released to commemorate the 13th anniversary of Hubble’s launch on April 24, 1990.