Unveiling a spectacular cosmic show! Hubble peeks into our galactic neighbour

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope keeps on releasing stunning images of the cosmos, with the above image being one of them. The image shows part of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a small nearby galaxy that orbits our Milky Way galaxy.

This image shows part of the Tarantula Nebula's outskirts - a famously beautiful nebula located within the LMC. A frequent target for Hubble, the nebula is home to the hottest, most massive stars known.

Unlike most images of the LMC, the colour seen here is completely different. This is because a different set of filters was used in this image. The customary R filter, which selects the red light, was replaced by a filter letting through the near-infrared light. In traditional images, the hydrogen gas appears pink because it shines most brightly in the red. Here, however, other less prominent emission lines dominate in the blue and green filters.

❄️ Reminding us of the winter frost, this #HubbleTopImage shows part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy orbiting the Milky Way. Read more: https://t.co/3p8bqgj1AV📷 @esa / @HUBBLE_space & @NASA Ack.: J. Barrington pic.twitter.com/TYXHK3AVYQ

— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) December 22, 2022

Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. Since its 1990 launch, the space-based telescope has been beaming back breathtaking images, changing humanity's fundamental understanding of the universe.