--- title: Chinese Lunar New Year: Hubble Shot Shows Monkey Head Nebula description: Celebrating Chinese New Year with outer space canonical: https://time.com/4212048/lunar-new-year-2016-monkey-hubble/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-08T16:25:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:26.936Z article:section: Science og:title: Celebrate the Chinese New Year With This Shot of the Monkey Head Nebula og:description: The Lunar New Year festivities go to outer space og:url: https://time.com/4212048/lunar-new-year-2016-monkey-hubble/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99dbf6d9881e2bb1/69887c9b3c16393b1745bec0/hubble-24th-birthday-monkey-head-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1858 og:image:height: 1045 og:image:alt: Hubble-24th-birthday-Monkey-Head-Nebula og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Celebrate the Chinese New Year With This Shot of the Monkey Head Nebula twitter:description: The Lunar New Year festivities go to outer space twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99dbf6d9881e2bb1/69887c9b3c16393b1745bec0/hubble-24th-birthday-monkey-head-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Celebrate the Chinese New Year With This Shot of the Monkey Head Nebula  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Feb 8, 2016 4:25 PM UTC  A view of the Monkey Head Nebula, released on March 17, 2014\. Otherwise known as NGC 2174, the nebula is a cloud of gas and dust that lies about 6400 light-years away in the constellation of Orion. Nebulas like this one are popular targets for Hubble, their colourful plumes of gas and fiery bright stars create ethereally beautiful pictures. A view of the Monkey Head Nebula, released on March 17, 2014\. Otherwise known as NGC 2174, the nebula is a cloud of gas and dust that lies about 6400 light-years away in the constellation of Orion. Nebulas like this one are popular targets for Hubble, their colourful plumes of gas and fiery bright stars create ethereally beautiful pictures.NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Feb 8, 2016 4:25 PM UTC The [Chinese New Year](http://time.com/4211680/chinese-new-year-lunar-monkey/) was already a worldwide celebration, [and now the festivities are as far-reaching as outer space.](https://twitter.com/esa/status/696683407573700608) Monday marks the first day of celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, which ushers in the Year of the Monkey. In honor of the new year, here is a photo of the Monkey Head Nebula, as spied from the Hubble Telescope. The image shows a scattering of new stars amidst swirling dust and cosmic gas that make the nebula a birthplace for new stars. The European Space Agency [calls it](http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/03/Hubble%5Fs%5F24th%5Fbirthday%5Fsnap%5Fof%5FMonkey%5FHead%5FNebula) a “violent stellar nursery”—making the Monkey Head Nebula all the more representative of the fresh start a new year brings.  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4212048/lunar-new-year-2016-monkey-hubble/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4212048/lunar-new-year-2016-monkey-hubble/"},"headline":"Celebrate the Chinese New Year With This Shot of the Monkey Head Nebula","datePublished":"2016-02-08T16:25:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:26.936Z","description":"Honoring the Year of the Monkey with outer space","url":"https://time.com/4212048/lunar-new-year-2016-monkey-hubble/","keywords":["Space","chinese new year","monkey"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99dbf6d9881e2bb1/69887c9b3c16393b1745bec0/hubble-24th-birthday-monkey-head-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99dbf6d9881e2bb1/69887c9b3c16393b1745bec0/hubble-24th-birthday-monkey-head-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hubble-24th-birthday-Monkey-Head-Nebula","caption":"A view of the Monkey Head Nebula, released on March 17, 2014. 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