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Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The European Southern Observatory said Wednesday that its Chile-based telescope has given the clearest picture yet of the "Serpens" constellation. The constellation, named by ancient Greek sky watchers because the pattern resembled a snake, has numerous other astronomical objects unseen by the naked eye, ESO researchers said. Formally called the Sh2-54 nebulae, the constellation was cataloged along with 300 others by U.S. astronomer Stewart Sharpless in the 1950s.
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The new details were captured by the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, or VISTA, based at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.
"Nebulae are vast clouds of gas and dust from which stars are born," the ESO said in a statement. "Telescopes have allowed astronomers to identify and analyze these rather faint objects in exquisite detail.
"Just as the snake, the namesake of this nebula, evolved the ability to sense infrared light to better understand its environment, so too have we developed infrared instruments to learn more about the universe."
Researchers said the use of infrared light has allowed them to look past the thick layers of dust almost unimpeded. The new images reveal stars long hidden from mankind by veils of dust.
"This is particularly useful as it allows scientists to study what happens in stellar nurseries in much greater detail, and thus learn more about how stars form," ESO said. "This is a multiyear project that has repeatedly observed a large portion of the Milky Way at infrared wavelengths, providing key data to understand stellar evolution."
