NGC 7129 – The Cosmic Rose

Description:

The Cosmic Rose is a reflection nebula surrounding an open cluster. The Spitzer Space Telescope has detected more than 130 “baby stars” in this region. The two pink spots at the top left of the nebula in this photo are Herbig-Haro objects. These are small nebulosities that form when material ejected from nascent stars collides with surrounding clouds of gas and dust at speeds of several hundred kilometers per second. These are obvious indicators of nascent stars.