{"id":286996,"date":"2026-02-16T17:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/286996\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T17:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:20:10","slug":"chandra-spots-cluster-of-newborn-stars-in-cocoon-nebula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/286996\/","title":{"rendered":"Chandra Spots Cluster of Newborn Stars in Cocoon Nebula"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Chandra team has released a striking new composite image of the Cocoon Nebula, a reflection and emission nebula in the constellation of Cygnus. The image blends high-energy X-rays with optical and infrared light to expose a cluster of newborn stars emerging through clouds of dust and gas.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.sci.news\/images\/enlarge13\/image_14558e-Cocoon-Nebula.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-108502\" class=\"wp-image-108502 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image_14558-Cocoon-Nebula.jpg\" alt=\"This composite image shows the heart-shaped Cocoon Nebula: X-ray data from Chandra reveal a cluster of new stars that are just poking through the stunning nebula; optical light data from astrophotographers Michael Adler and Barry Wilson, as well as infrared light data from WISE mission are also included. Image credit: NASA \/ CXC \/ SAO \/ JPL \/ Caltech \/ WISE \/ M. Adler \/ B. Wilson \/ L. Frattare.\" width=\"580\" height=\"585\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-108502\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This composite image shows the heart-shaped Cocoon Nebula: X-ray data from Chandra reveal a cluster of new stars that are just poking through the stunning nebula; optical light data from astrophotographers Michael Adler and Barry Wilson, as well as infrared light data from WISE mission are also included. Image credit: NASA \/ CXC \/ SAO \/ JPL \/ Caltech \/ WISE \/ M. Adler \/ B. Wilson \/ L. Frattare.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/simbad.cds.unistra.fr\/simbad\/sim-id?Ident=IC+5146\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Cocoon Nebula<\/a> is located approximately 2,650 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise known as IC 5146 or Collinder 470, the nebula is about <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IC_5146\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">15 light-years<\/a> across.<\/p>\n<p>The object was first <a href=\"https:\/\/de.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kokon-Nebel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">discovered<\/a> by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard on October 11, 1893.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis image shows the Cocoon Nebula as a glowing, heart-shaped cloud set against a dense backdrop of countless stars scattered across the Milky Way,\u201d the Chandra astronomers said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe nebula\u2019s center is filled with warm reds, oranges, and golds, forming a luminous cocoon of gas and dust with soft, uneven edges that fade into the surrounding darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmbedded within this glowing cloud are many young stars, some appearing as bright white or bluish points, while others are hidden and revealed only through X-ray light detected by NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Observatory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese X-rays trace a cluster of newly-formed, highly active stars concentrated near the nebula\u2019s core,\u201d they explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe heart-shaped nebula itself shines through a mix of light emitted by these young stars and starlight reflected off surrounding dust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOptical data from two astrophotographers and infrared observations from NASA\u2019s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) provide depth and texture, revealing a sparkling star field and the thick, dusty structures where new stars continue to form.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chandra team has released a striking new composite image of the Cocoon Nebula, a reflection and emission&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[9248,159713,159714,159715,43873,3323,3324,111,139,69,159716,147,2737,3327,56457,91606],"class_list":{"0":"post-286996","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-chandra","9":"tag-cocoon-nebula","10":"tag-emission-nebula","11":"tag-ic-5146","12":"tag-ir","13":"tag-nasa","14":"tag-nebula","15":"tag-new-zealand","16":"tag-newzealand","17":"tag-nz","18":"tag-reflection-nebula","19":"tag-science","20":"tag-star","21":"tag-star-cluster","22":"tag-wise","23":"tag-x-rays"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}