
The turbulent nature of interstellar gas leads to the beautiful, intricate structures in emission nebulae, like the Rosette Nebula shown in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope. Researchers have used fractal density patterns to imitate the turbulence in interstellar gas and model realistic nebulae — with important implications for how we interpret observations of distant galaxies. You can learn more about this study in our AAS Nova highlight and the corresponding research article in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. [John Corban & the ESA/ESO/NASA Photoshop FITS Liberator]
AAS members and counting...
Joining the AAS community provides you special access to:
Want to get more involved with astronomy?
Donating to the AAS enables us to advocate, teach, and connect current and future astronomers.