Few images of space can match what looks to be a picture of, well, the Cosmic Keyhole. This amazing image was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and appears to show a hole in the fabric of space.
Experts refer to the observation as a “cosmic keyhole” and identify it as a reflection nebula, which is a remnant of the creation of a young star, in this instance the tiny multiple-star system V380 Orionis in the constellation Orion. A stunning image of a keyhole immersed in milky white smoke among the stars was acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope. The picture shows what is known as a “reflection nebula,” which is roughly 1,350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion.
The European Space Agency shared this photograph and explained that reflection nebulae may only be observed when they are illuminated inside. The light source in this photograph is a young star known as V380 Orionis.
Cosmic Keyhole Image Leaves Us In Awe
According to the ESA, the newborn star in this situation is behaving like a lamp in a dimly lit room, casting light on the moving clouds of gas and dust that are made up of materials left over from the star’s development.
The inky black core in the middle of the picture resembles a keyhole in a dark room very strongly. Researchers were not sure if the apparent keyhole in this image, which was actually taken in 1999, was a hole in the nebular material or if it was just a mass of cold gas and dust at the time.
The Cosmic Keyhole is in reality a hole allowing a glimpse into space on the opposite side of the nebula, according to further observations from ESA’s more potent Herschel Space Observatory. It is only a patch of empty space. However, researchers are still unsure about the nebula’s keyhole’s true origin.
