February 22, 2011

Hubble Reveals Identity Of Mysterious Green Blob



The Hubble Space Telescope has zoomed in on one of the most fascinating, yet mysterious, cosmic objects to be found in recent years. The green gaseous structure is known as Hanny's Voorwerp (Hanny's Object in Dutch) and its existence had astronomers confused for some time.

Discovered in 2007 by Hanny van Arkel, a Dutch schoolteacher participating in the Galaxy Zoo project, the object defied explanation. Now, Hubble has managed to capture a detailed view of the intergalactic oddity, revealing that it's not just a dead cloud of gas being lit up by the dying embers of an ancient quasar, it's showing signs of star birth.

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