NASA Unveils Spectacular 3-D Exploration of Orion Nebula Celebrating Chinese New Year!

NASA created a ‘rotating three-dimensional view of the Orion Nebula’ using data from the SOFIA mission. They shared the visual to welcome the Lunar New Year.

NASA took to Instagram to share a special creation to celebrate the Lunar New Year. They shared a three-dimensional and rotating view of a nebula that “appears to be in the shape of a dragon”.

“Happy Lunar New Year. Welcome to the Year of the Dragon. This three-dimensional view of the Orion Nebula – Earth’s closest star-formation nursery – was created using data from the SOFIA mission," NASA wrote.

Explaining the image, NASA said that the nebula has a blue center, with red wispy fragments on the outer detail.

"The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) was a mission of discovery, revealing unseen – and sometimes unseeable – parts of our universe.

While science flights have ended, SOFIA's data from a total of 732 nights observing throughout the mission are publicly available for scientists to study and conduct further research in the future,” NASA added.

1. Reacting to the incredible image, one user wrote, ''Never in my life would I think to see a 360 of my favorite nebula, thank you.'' 2. Another commented, ''my favorite nebula omg.'' 3. A third said, ''Very cool… looks like a 3D ultrasound of the Phoenix.'' 4. A fourth added, ''We love you guys nasa... Happy lunar New year.''

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