Sh2-284 – The Portal Nebula

From its perch in the Monoceros constellation approximately 15,000 light years away, Sh2-284, the Portal Nebula, forms new stars within its expansive reach (by my possibly faulty math, that distance would mean it’s around 200 light years in diameter).

The Portal has been shaped by a young, hot cluster of stars in its midst that produce high-energy radiation that sculpts the surrounding gasses. That energy also excites and ionizes the atoms in those gasses so they give off their own light.

The Portal is an emission nebula that contains a very low concentration of heavier elements, which means its environment is similar to the early universe. This makes it possible for scientists to gain insights into how the first stars formed.