A Shocking Outflow Space Wallpaper

This image shows an outflow of gas from a new star as it jets from a space object dubbed IRAS 21078+5211. (Image credit: NASA/JPL)

This cool space wallpaper shows an outflow of gas from a new star as it jets from a space object dubbed IRAS 21078+5211. The reddish blob in its center, as picked up by the 4.5-micron infrared band on NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, contrasts nicely with the clouds, colored green here, that surround it. These so - called shocked outflows ram into the hydrogen gas around them and make it glow -- a bright beacon in the lonely outskirts of the Milky Way.

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