It is a H II region estimated to be around 2,000 light years from Earth, in an isolated area of the Milky Way.
In the center of the nebula is a young and massive star that emits jets of hot gas from its poles, forming the bipolar structure. Dust surrounding the star is also ionized by the star. The nebula spans about 2 light-years across.
The central star, a source of infrared radiation usually referred to as S106 IR or S106 IRS 4, is believed to have been formed only 100,000 years ago. It is a massive star, approximately 15 solar masses. Two jets of matter streaming from its poles heat surrounding matter to a temperature of around 10,000 °C. Dust that is not ionized by the star's jets reflect light from the star. With an estimated surface temperature of 37,000°K, it is classified as a type O8 star, ejecting material at around 100 km/s.
Studies of images has revealed that the star-forming region has also created hundreds of low-mass brown dwarf stars and protostars.
This Hubble image is comprised of 2 separate images taken with different IR filters (F110 and F160) - each image captures its own level of detail. The F110 channel was mapped to Orange while the F160 was mapped to Cyan.
If you want to see more images like this with they caption and a section explaining how also you can take such amazing images, give a look at The Art and Science of the Universe, our latest book co-authored with Arc Fortnight.
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