Celestial Snow Angel - Enhanced - Sharpless 2-106

Often times, Hubble images - though beautiful in their own right - are rendered rather dull and flat. For a more impactful fine art print, I like to slightly enhance these images to bring out the color and texture without disrupting the realism of the original.

The bipolar star-forming region, called Sharpless 2-106, looks like a soaring, celestial snow angel. The outstretched "wings" of the nebula record the contrasting imprint of heat and motion against the backdrop of a colder medium.

Sharpless 2-106, Sh2-106 or S106 for short, lies nearly 2,000 light-years from us. The nebula measures several light-years in length. It appears in a relatively isolated region of the Milky Way galaxy.

A massive, young star, IRS 4 (Infrared Source 4), is responsible for the furious activity we see in the nebula. Twin lobes of super-hot gas, glowing blue in this image, stretch outward from the central star. This hot gas creates the "wings" of our angel.

A ring of dust and gas orbiting the star acts like a belt, cinching the expanding nebula into an "hourglass" shape. Hubble's sharp resolution reveals ripples and ridges in the gas as it interacts with the cooler interstellar medium.

Dusky red veins surround the blue emission from the nebula. The faint light emanating from the central star reflects off of tiny dust particles. This illuminates the environment around the star, showing darker filaments of dust winding beneath the blue lobes.

Detailed studies of the nebula have also uncovered several hundred brown dwarfs. At purely infrared wavelengths, more than 600 of these sub-stellar objects appear. These "failed" stars weigh less than a tenth of our Sun. Because of their low mass, they cannot produce sustained energy through nuclear fusion like our Sun does. They encompass the nebula in a small cluster.

The Hubble images were taken in February 2011 with the Wide Field Camera 3. Visible narrow-band filters that isolate the hydrogen gas were combined with near-infrared filters that show structure in the cooler gas and dust.

I take great pride in my images, so I want to make sure my customers are getting the highest quality products possible. My high resolution images are printed by some of the largest and most respected print fulfillment companies in the world, using professional grade printers on museum quality archival (acid-free) papers and canvases. Metal prints are printed on high gloss aluminum sheets, and are durable, light weight, and waterproof. Unframed prints ship in durable cardboard tubes, while framed and metal prints ship in flat boxes. Your professionally assembled custom fine art is usually ready to ship in 5-7 business days.

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Framed prints are professionally mounted and assembled by expert framing staff and arrive "ready-to-hang" with pre-attached hanging wire, mounting hooks, and nails. High-grade acrylic is used for glazing, which won't break in shipping. Frames are available to us at wholesale prices, which are typically 25-40% less than retail framing shops. If you're planning on framing a fine art print anyway, why not get it done professionally for less?

Canvas Prints

Add style and personality to any room with this fine art canvas print. Images are printed on premium canvas and mounted on 1.5" wooden stretcher bars. Wrap options include solid color (white or black), natural wrap, or mirrored wrap. Rolled canvas is an alternate option, and includes a 2.5" white border to allow for future mounting. Shipped to your door ready to hang, with pre-attached hanging wire or sawtooth hanger.

Metal Prints

Hang a modern work of art on your wall, with these stylish metal prints. A high gloss finish adds depth and boldness to colors printed on a 1/16" thick sheet of aluminum. A hanging plate is attached to the back, to float the print 1/2"-3/4" from the wall, and rubber bumpers on all four corners stabilize the print when hung. These amazing lightweight prints are durable and even water proof!