Monkey Head Nebula

The Monkey Head Nebula is a region of star birth located 6,400 light-years away. It is also known as NGC 2174 and Sharpless Sh2-252. The nebula is mostly composed of hydrogen gas. The cloud is sculpted by ultraviolet light carving into the cool hydrogen gas and dust. As the interstellar dust particles are warmed from the radiation from the stars in the centre of the nebula, they heat up and begin to glow at infrared wavelengths. (Hubblesite.org)