“Seal Astronomical Observatory” succeeds in photographing the “Lion” Nebula

The Seal Astronomical Observatory, located in the Abu Dhabi desert, succeeded in capturing a unique image of the “Lion” Nebula, known as the symbol “SH2-132“, due to the shape of the cosmic gas and dust that resemble a lion, after a photo session that lasted for 32 hours.

The “Lion” Nebula is located within the Cepheus group, about 10,000 light-years away, and its width is about 270 light-years, which means that the light captured in the image emanated from the nebula in approximately 8000 BC, and that the light traveling at a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second would need 270 years to cut the nebula from its edges.

The nebula appears in its distinctive colors as a result of the ionization of gas molecules due to ultraviolet rays coming from the surrounding stars, specifically from two high-mass stars:HD 21156“and”HD 211853The mass of each of them is about 20 times the mass of the Sun.

The colors of the image reflect the components of the nebula. The red color represents ionized hydrogen gas, and the blue color represents ionized oxygen gas. A special filter was used to block light pollution and highlight these components.