The Orion Veil is part of the homonymous nebula, which is one of the most incredible images in the sky. It is one of the few nebulae that can be seen with the naked eye, making it one of the most photographed astronomical objects. But recently, researchers have discovered a bulge that is expanding beyond the shell of the Orion Veil, a sign that it is breaking up.
The Orion Nebula
Nebulae are amazing objects that have been named for their electrifying colors that are made up of clouds of gas and dust. Orion is, of course, in the very heart of the constellation that bears the same name and is located about 1,350 light years from Earth. Stars form within it, emitting thermal energy and protoplanetary disks have even been observed and turbulence detected reaching up to 700 thousand kilometers per hour.
According to Greek mythology, it represents the hunter Orion facing Taurus, chasing the Pleiades sisters represented by the open cluster, or chasing the Libre with his two hunting dogs, which are the nearby constellations of Canis Major and Canis Minor.
This constellation has two of the brightest stars in the entire celestial vault: Rigel and Betelgeuse. In addition, it is also home to several famous nebulae: Orion, Maira and the Horse Nebula. Orion’s belt is perhaps the best-known region of the constellation, since you can admire the three stars that form it, which are commonly known as “The Three Wise Men.”
In March 1769, while Charles Messier was admiring the stars of the constellation, he found the famous nebula that received the designation M42 in Messier’s catalogue. Years later in 1865, William Huggins confirmed the presence of a gaseous character of the nebula. But it was not until 15 years later, in 1880, that the first photograph of the Orion Nebula would be published.
What is happening in the Orion Veil?
A study published by the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory Airborne Telescope for Infrared Astronomy) has shown that Orion’s Veil could be breaking, since “the bubble should be an almost spherical structure, but we found a bulge in its part north”, according to the main author of the research, Ümit Kavak.
These observations reveal the emission of ionized carbon from the protuberance that they used to determine its size and structure, hoping it will be useful for the discovery of its origins and what may happen to it in the future.
The protuberance found has a lying “U” shape, and is extending past the shell of the Orion Veil, making it very likely that it will be perforated and apparently the upper part has already done so.
*Schematic image of the bulge (green lines, center right) and ionized carbon vents extending beyond the bulge, where the shell was likely pierced. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team; Kavak.
“When the shell of the Veil breaks, a cosmic soup of gas and dust begins to stir up by adding turbulence,” Kavak said. “This is not the most appetizing soup, but it is one of the ways to form new stars or limit their future formation,” concluded Leiden University researcher and co-author of the study, Alexander Tielens.
These turbulences affect the density, temperature and chemistry of the surrounding region, leading to the creation of star formation sites. They also identified a second protuberance, which they will investigate in more detail in the future, since the two protuberances together would affect the morphology of the Orion Nebula.
You can see this constellation from the northern hemisphere every winter night, from November to February. It is also visible hours before dawn from late August to mid-November and can be seen in the night sky until mid-April.
References: Kavak, Ü. (2022). Breaking Orion’s Veil with fossil outflows. Astronomy & Astrophysics, DOI