by APOD Robot » Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:06 am
The Cosmic Web of the Tarantula Nebula
Explanation: It is the largest and most complex star forming region in the entire galactic neighborhood. Located in the
Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy orbiting our Milky Way galaxy,
the region's spidery appearance is responsible for its popular name, the
Tarantula nebula. This tarantula, however, is about 1,000
light-years across. Were it placed at the distance of Milky Way's
Orion Nebula, only 1,500 light-years distant and the nearest stellar nursery to Earth, it would appear to cover about 30 degrees (60
full moons) on the sky. Intriguing details of the nebula are visible in
the above image shown in
scientific colors. The spindly arms of the
Tarantula nebula surround
NGC 2070, a
star cluster that contains some of the brightest, most
massive stars known, visible in blue on the right. Since massive stars
live fast and die young, it is not so surprising that the
cosmic Tarantula also lies near the site of the closest
recent supernova.
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[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110111.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_110111.jpg[/img] [size=150]The Cosmic Web of the Tarantula Nebula[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] It is the largest and most complex star forming region in the entire galactic neighborhood. Located in the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081219.html]Large Magellanic Cloud[/url], a small satellite galaxy orbiting our Milky Way galaxy, [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOZUR67efjw]the region[/url]'s spidery appearance is responsible for its popular name, the [url=http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_museum/30dor.html]Tarantula nebula[/url]. This tarantula, however, is about 1,000 [url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html]light-years[/url] across. Were it placed at the distance of Milky Way's [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050918.html]Orion Nebula[/url], only 1,500 light-years distant and the nearest stellar nursery to Earth, it would appear to cover about 30 degrees (60 [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051113.html]full moons[/url]) on the sky. Intriguing details of the nebula are visible in [url=http://www.astromgs.com.ar/fotos/ngc2070_Ha_SII_OIII_112010.html]the above image[/url] shown in [url=http://hubblesource.stsci.edu/services/articles/2005-02-10/]scientific colors[/url]. The spindly arms of the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula]Tarantula[/url] nebula surround [url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995AstL...21..663S]NGC 2070[/url], a [url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=18009]star cluster[/url] that contains some of the brightest, most [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070506.html]massive stars[/url] known, visible in blue on the right. Since massive stars [url=http://rebel-without-a-cause.blogspot.com/]live fast and die young[/url], it is not so surprising that the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051212.html]cosmic Tarantula[/url] also lies near the site of the closest [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap951027.html]recent supernova[/url].
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