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After Hours

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

By Mark W. Kaelin February 15, 2011, 11:19 PM PST

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Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

The Eagle Nebula

The Eagle Nebula

ntThe mysterious nebula is arguably the most awe-inspiring cosmological phenomena known. The images published by our friends at NASA reveal the vastness of the universe and make for some mesmerizing desktop wallpaper.

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ntOne of the most striking images produced by the Hubble Telescope was this view of the Eagle Nebula showing columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust.

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ntNote: All of the images and descriptions are courtesy of NASA and many more are available on the NASA Web site. For best results, click the View full size link under each image. This gallery was originally published in November 2011.

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ntCredit: NASA

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

An Unexplored Nebula

An Unexplored Nebula

ntThe combined light of the stars of the Milky Way are reflected by this cosmic dust cloud that soars some 300 light-years above the plane of our Galaxy. Dubbed the Angel Nebula by astronomer Steve Mandel’s 13 year old son, the dusty apparition is part of an expansive complex of dim and relatively unexplored diffuse nebulae, traced over large regions seen toward the North and South Galactic poles.

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ntCredit & Copyright: Steve Mandel, Galaxy Images

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

Dust and the Helix Nebula

Dust and the Helix Nebula

ntDust makes this cosmic eye look red. The eerie Spitzer Space Telescope image shows infrared radiation from the well-studied Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) a mere 700 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius.

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ntNASA, JPL-Caltech, Kate Su (Steward Obs., U. Arizona), et al.

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

In the Center of the Trifid Nebula

In the Center of the Trifid Nebula

ntClouds of glowing gas mingle with dust lanes in the Trifid Nebula, a star forming region toward the constellation of Sagittarius.

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ntCredit & Copyright: Daniel Lopez (Observatorio del Teide)

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

The Cat's Paw Nebula

The Cat's Paw Nebula

ntAt 5,500 light years distant, Cat’s Paw is an emission nebula with a red color that originates from an abundance of ionized hydrogen atoms.

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ntCredit & Copyright: T. A. Rector (U. Alaska), T. Abbott, NOAO, AURA, NSF

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

The Ring Nebula

The Ring Nebula

ntExcept for the rings of Saturn, the Ring Nebula (M57) is probably the most famous celestial band. This planetary nebula’s simple, graceful appearance is thought to be due to perspective — our view from planet Earth looking straight into what is actually a barrel-shaped cloud of gas shrugged off by a dying central star.

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ntCredit: H. Bond et al., Hubble Heritage Team (STScI /AURA), NASA

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

The Great Carina Nebula

The Great Carina Nebula

ntA jewel of the southern sky, the Great Carina Nebula, aka NGC 3372, spans over 300 light-years, one of our galaxy’s largest star forming regions.

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ntCredit & Copyright: Robert Gendler and Stephane Guisard

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

In the Heart of the Tarantula Nebula

In the Heart of the Tarantula Nebula

ntIn the heart of monstrous Tarantula Nebula lies huge bubbles of energetic gas, long filaments of dark dust, and unusually massive stars. In the center of this heart, is a knot of stars so dense that it was once thought to be a single star.

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ntCredit: ESA, NASA, ESO, & Danny LaCrue

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

A Beautiful Boomerang Nebula

A Beautiful Boomerang Nebula

ntThis symmetric cloud dubbed the Boomerang Nebula was created by a high-speed wind of gas and dust blowing from an aging central star at speeds of nearly 600,000 kilometers per hour.

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ntCredit: Hubble Heritage Team, J. Biretta (STScI) et al., (STScI/AURA), ESA, NASA

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

The Bubble Nebula

The Bubble Nebula

ntThe Bubble Nebula, is being pushed out by the stellar wind of massive central star BD+602522. Next door, though, lives a giant molecular cloud, visible above to the lower right.

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ntCredit & Copyright: Russell Croman

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

Flame Nebula Close-Up

Flame Nebula Close-Up

ntThe Flame Nebula’s suggestive reddish color is due to the glow of hydrogen atoms at the edge of the giant Orion molecular cloud complex some 1,500 light-years away.

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ntCredit & Copyright: Robert Gendler, Jan-Erik Ovaldsen

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

In the Center of the Rosette Nebula

In the Center of the Rosette Nebula

ntIn the heart of the Rosette Nebula lies a bright open cluster of stars that lights up the nebula.

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ntCredit & Copyright: MegaPrime Camera, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

The Dumbbell Nebula

The Dumbbell Nebula

ntThe Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula, the type of nebula our Sun will produce when nuclear fusion stops in its core.

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ntCredit & Copyright: Michael Pierce (Indiana U.) et al., WIYN, AURA, NOAO, NSF

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

Reflection nebulae in Orion

Reflection nebulae in Orion

ntFound along Orion’s sword just north of the bright Orion Nebula complex, these reflection nebulae are also associated with Orion’s giant molecular cloud about 1,500 light-years away, but are dominated by the characteristic blue color of interstellar dust reflecting light from hot young stars.

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ntCredit & Copyright: Martin Pugh

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

The Horsehead Nebula in Orion

The Horsehead Nebula in Orion

ntOne of the most identifiable nebulae in the sky, the Horsehead Nebula in Orion, is part of a large, dark, molecular cloud. Also known as Barnard 33, the unusual shape was first discovered on a photographic plate in the late 1800s.

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ntCredit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, U. Arizona

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

LL Ori and the Orion Nebula

LL Ori and the Orion Nebula

ntThis is an esthetic close-up of cosmic clouds and stellar winds features LL Orionis, interacting with the Orion Nebula flow.

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ntCredit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

The Witch's Broom Nebula

The Witch's Broom Nebula

ntTen thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light must suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was an exploding star and record the colorful expanding cloud as the Veil Nebula. Pictured above is the west end of the Veil Nebula known technically as NGC 6960 but less formally as the Witch‘s Broom Nebula.

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ntCredit & Copyright: T. A. Rector (U. Alaska), WIYN, NOAO, AURA, NSF

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

The Crescent Nebula

The Crescent Nebula

ntthe Crescent Nebula, is a cosmic bubble about 25 light-years across, blown by winds from its central, bright, massive star. This beautiful portrait of the nebula is from the Isaac Newton Telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in the Canary Islands.

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ntCredit & Copyright: Daniel Lu00f3pez, IAC

Desktop Wallpaper: Deep space nebula

Dust Pillar of the Carina Nebula

Dust Pillar of the Carina Nebula

ntThe monster, on the right, is actually an inanimate pillar of gas and dust that measures over a light year in length. The star, not itself visible through the opaque dust, is bursting out partly by ejecting energetic beams of particles.

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ntCredit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

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By Mark W. Kaelin
Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the information technology industry, gadgets, finance, accounting, and tech-life for more than 25 years. Most recently, he has been a regular contributor to BreakingModern.com, aNewDomain.net,
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