The above picture was produced in two specific colors to better understand these interactions. Here, hot hydrogen gas glows in red, while cooler Sulfur glows blue-green. The light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming the cold gas to hot gas, with the advancing boundary between the two known as an ionization front. Particularly dense filaments of cold gas are seen to still remain. Millions of years from now this nebula might no longer be known as the Pelican , as the balance and placement of stars and gas will leave something that appears completely different.
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