Space Image of the Day Gallery (January 2016)

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Ultraviolet Scene

Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/Coelum

Friday, Jan. 29, 2016: Emission nebula IC 4628 lies about 6,000 light years away in the constellation of Scorpius. These types of nebulas arise when a sun-like star at the end of its life spews forth an enormous amount of gas. The remaining star, a white dwarf, emits intense ultra-violet light that causes the gas to glow, with different elements of the gas displaying different colors. Red indicates ionized hydrogen, and near the central star, doubly ionized oxygen glows in green. IC 4628 also goes by the names of the Prawn Nebula and Gum 56. Image released December 2015.

— Tom Chao

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Tom Chao
Tom Chao
Tom Chao has contributed to SPACE.com as a producer and writer since 2000. As a writer and editor, he has worked for the Voyager Company, Time Inc. New Media, HarperCollins and Worth Publishers. He has a bachelor’s degree in Cinema Production from the University of Southern California, and a master’s degree from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Tom on Google+.