<p class="c3"><strong>Radiation from newborn stars heats up the <a class="c4" href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2317.html">Flame Nebula</a> in the constellation Orion, some 1,300 light-years from Earth.</strong></p><p class="c3">The resulting infrared light reached the European Space Agency's&nbsp;<a class="c4" href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Herschel/Herschel_at_a_glance">Herschel space telescope</a>'s sensitive instruments on April 18, and was colored white, yellow, and pink to create this image.</p><p class="c3">The star illuminating the Flame Nebula would appear as another dot on Orion's belt but for the huge cloud of dust obscuring it from view and making it appear four billion times dimmer.</p><p class="c3">—<em>Brad Scriber</em></p>

Flaming Nebula

Radiation from newborn stars heats up the Flame Nebula in the constellation Orion, some 1,300 light-years from Earth.

The resulting infrared light reached the European Space Agency's Herschel space telescope's sensitive instruments on April 18, and was colored white, yellow, and pink to create this image.

The star illuminating the Flame Nebula would appear as another dot on Orion's belt but for the huge cloud of dust obscuring it from view and making it appear four billion times dimmer.

Brad Scriber

Image courtesy Schneider/André/Könyves, ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE

Space Pictures This Week: Atlantis, Geyser Moon

A shuttle stays under wraps and Saturn's moon spurts ice in this week's best space pictures.

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