| 8th of February 2016 |
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| The Year of the Monkey |
| by Jing Wang (CASS) |
| The 8th of February 2016 is the first day of
the Chinese New Year, the year of the monkey. Overlaid onto the Hubble
color-composite image for the Monkey Head Nebula is a pattern of Chinese
paper cutting for a monkey. Paper-cutting is one of the most important forms
of Chinese folk art. In China it is the tradition since the 6th century to post
Paper-cuttings on windows and doors to celebrate the Chinese New years. The Monkey Head Nebula (NGC 2174) is an HII emission nebula located in Orion and is associated with the open star cluster NGC 2175 about 6,400 light-years away from Earth. (Picture credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA) |