1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 To celebrate each new year of observing, 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:11,000 the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures stunning new images of the sky 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,000 This year for its 24th birthday 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:22,000 the space telescope has released a new image of part of NGC 2174 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,000 This region, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula, 6 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:34,000 is filled with young stars embedded within bright wisps of cosmic gas and dust 7 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Episode 73: Hubble revisits the Monkey Head Nebula for 24th birthday snap 8 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,000 Nebulae are a favourite target for Hubble 9 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:10,000 Their colourful plumes of gas and fiery bright stars create ethereally beautiful pictures 10 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,000 Some of Hubble's most beautiful and popular images have been of nebulae 11 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:29,000 for example, take the telescope's striking image of the Ring Nebula released last year 12 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:35,000 or this delicate and beautiful infrared image of the Horsehead Nebula 13 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,000 produced to celebrate Hubble's 23rd anniversary 14 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:54,000 In 2012 Hubble viewed the Tarantula Nebula to commemorate its 22nd birthday 15 00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:00,000 and for its 21st snapped the stunning cosmic rose Arp 273 16 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,000 Now, to celebrate its 24th year in orbit 17 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:14,000 Hubble has revisited part of NGC 2174 18 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,000 more commonly known as the Monkey Head Nebula 19 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:24,000 Dark brown and rust coloured dust clouds billow outwards 20 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,000 framed against a background of bright blue gas 21 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:33,000 These striking hues are formed by combining several Hubble images 22 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:42,000 taken with different coloured filters to reveal a broad range of colours not normally visible to the human eye 23 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:51,000 This is not the first time Hubble has turned its gaze to the Monkey Head Nebula 24 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:58,000 Sitting about 6400 light-years away in the constellation of Orion, 25 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:05,000 NGC 2174 was previously captured by Hubble in 2011 26 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:18,000 The violent stellar nursery contains all the ingredients needed for star formation 27 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:24,000 However, the recipe for cooking up new stars isn't very efficient 28 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,000 and most of these ingredients are wasted 29 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,000 as the cloud of gas and dust gradually disperses 30 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:42,000 The rate at which the nebula disperses is accelerated by the presence of fiery hot young stars 31 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:47,000 which trigger high velocity winds that help to blow the gas outwards. 32 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,000 Launched in 1990, 33 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:06,000 the Hubble Space Telescope has witnessed countless cosmic marvels in its 24 years in orbit. 34 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,000 Capturing the elegance of nature, 35 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:18,000 it is a unique window into the Universe and continues to astound us year after year 36 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,000 with stunning images and cutting-edge science. 37 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,000 Happy 24th birthday Hubble! 38 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:40,000 Hubblecast is produced by ESA/Hubble at the European Southern Observatory in Germany. 39 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:45,000 The Hubble mission is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. 40 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:49,000 www.spacetelescope.org 41 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,000 Transcribed by ESA/Hubble. Translation --