Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2023

33 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2023 ASTRO PUBLISHING T his spectacular picture of the Sh2-284 nebula has been captured in great detail by the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. Sh2-284 is a star forma- tion region, and at its centre there is a cluster of young stars, dubbed Dolidze 25. The radi- ation from this cluster is powerful enough to ionise the hydrogen gas in the nebula’s cloud. It is this ionisation that produces its bright orange and red colours. This image is part of the VST Photometric H α Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge, led by Janet Drew at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. [ESO/VPHAS+ team. Ack.: CASU]