APOD: Young Star Cluster Trumpler 14 from... (2019 May 14)

[APOD Robot]

Young Star Cluster Trumpler 14 from Hubble

Explanation: Why does star cluster Trumpler 14 have so many bright stars? Because it is so young. Many cluster stars have formed only in the past 5 million years and are so hot they emit detectable X-rays. In older star clusters, most stars this young have already died -- typically exploding in a supernova -- leaving behind stars that are fainter and redder. Trumpler 14 spans about 40 light years and lies about 9,000 light years away on the edge of the famous Carina Nebula. A discerning eye can spot two unusual objects in this detailed 2006 image of Trumpler 14 by the Hubble Space Telescope. First, a dark cloud just left of center may be a planetary system trying to form before being destroyed by the energetic winds of Trumpler 14's massive stars. Second is the arc at the bottom left, which one hypothesis holds is the supersonic shock wave of a fast star ejected 100,000 years ago from a completely different star cluster.

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[Ann]

APOD Robot wrote:
Why does star cluster Trumpler 14 have so many bright stars? Because it is so young.

I beg to differ. The star cluster Trumpler 14 has so many bright stars because, for some reason, several of the stars it formed are really hugely massive. Of course, massive stars don't live long, and the brilliant beacons of Trumpler 14 will relatively soon blow themselves to bits in tremendous supernova explosions.

But youth itself doesn't make a cluster bright. The stars inside nebula NGC 1333 are mere babies, but they are not particularly bright, and they will never become all that bright, either. They simply don't pack enough mass to ever become extremely luminous.

Ann

[wolfie138]

why is that cloud so black? As far as I can tell from my rubbish monitor, it has no reflection/illumination from any of the ambient light; given how bright the rest of the image is, it looks very odd.

[JohnD]

I cannot reconcile the "dark cloud just left of centre" with the object shown in the linked APOD.
The first, in today's, is a sharply defined blob with a tail upwards and to the right.
The link shows a diffuse cloud with no tail.

Which is which and what is the first? Said to be "a planetary system trying to form" that doesn't fit with the appearance at all.

John

[De58te]

Here's my 2 cents on the black blob. I believe it is a silhouette since it reflects no light. It is in front of the Trumpler's closest star. How far in front, who knows but close enough to still cause evaporation. There is also a similar object in a link from Wiki of the Carina Nebula that, in this photo is to the left of the arc at the bottom but is off the left border frame. It is similar dark but at least twice as big as the one pictured here. I imagine these are remnants of the original Trumpler dust nebula.

[BDanielMayfield]

The dark dodad, dust cloud or whatever is most strange. Has it shown any changes over the decades that it's been photographed?

[BDanielMayfield]

I cannot reconcile the "dark cloud just left of centre" with the object shown in the linked APOD.
The first, in today's, is a sharply defined blob with a tail upwards and to the right.
The link shows a diffuse cloud with no tail.

Which is which and what is the first? Said to be "a planetary system trying to form" that doesn't fit with the appearance at all.

John

These appear to be two entirely separate objects John. If they aren't the strangeness baffles even more!

Bruce

[Chris Peterson]

I cannot reconcile the "dark cloud just left of centre" with the object shown in the linked APOD.
The first, in today's, is a sharply defined blob with a tail upwards and to the right.
The link shows a diffuse cloud with no tail.

Which is which and what is the first? Said to be "a planetary system trying to form" that doesn't fit with the appearance at all.

The link is simply to an example of a molecular cloud. It isn't the same one as in today's image, just another object of the same type. These dense molecular clouds are places where new stars and star systems are forming.

[Chris Peterson]

why is that cloud so black? As far as I can tell from my rubbish monitor, it has no reflection/illumination from any of the ambient light; given how bright the rest of the image is, it looks very odd.

Keep in mind that in order to maximize detail, astronomical images are normally stretched so that the darkest features render as very close to black, and the brightest as very close to white. You'd have to look at the source data to determine the actual recorded brightness of the cloud, which may well be something other than zero (i.e. "black").

If you look closely even at the processed image the blob is not rendered anywhere as black. All the pixel values are greater than zero, and if we stretch the contrast out we can see that structure is apparent in it.
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blob.jpg (7.76 KiB) Viewed 7183 times

[sillyworm 2]

I'm lovin the black blob!

[orin stepanek]

I'm just enjoying the beauty of today's APOD!

[TheZuke!]

why is that cloud so black?

I think someone spilled some black paint on the slide and didn't want to admit it to their boss.

[ta152h0]

my eyesight is failing but I can still see those beautiful spikes on those stars! pass the ice cold one!

[JohnD]

I cannot reconcile the "dark cloud just left of centre" with the object shown in the linked APOD.
The first, in today's, is a sharply defined blob with a tail upwards and to the right.
The link shows a diffuse cloud with no tail.

Which is which and what is the first? Said to be "a planetary system trying to form" that doesn't fit with the appearance at all.

The link is simply to an example of a molecular cloud. It isn't the same one as in today's image, just another object of the same type. These dense molecular clouds are places where new stars and star systems are forming.

Well, that resolves the Q. They are different objects. The blurb did give the impression that the linked image was the one on today's APOD.
Thanks, Chris.
John

[Astronymus]

I'm lovin the black blob!

This "blob" is a cloaked Thoorelican warship. And as long as we can see it on this picture we are on the safe side.

[Ann]

Click to view full size image

The dark cloud in Trumpler 14 is a Bok globule. One reason why it looks so weird is that not only is it pretty large, but it is also the only one of its kind in Trumpler 14.

Click to view full size image

Bok globules in the Lambda Centauri Nebula.
Photo: NASA/Hubble Heritage.

Click to view full size image

"The Finger of God" globule near Eta Carina.
NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and
The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA);

Bok globules are dense clouds of gas and dust that are literally "melting" in the hot environment near hot stars, like a pat of butter sliding and melting in a frying pan. Bok globules are therefore only found in very young clusters, because they have already "evaporated" in older clusters.

There are several amazing-looking Bok globules in the Carina Nebula.

Ann

[Ann]

Trumpler 14 also contains one of the most massive and luminous stars in our galaxy, HD 93129 A.

Wikipedia wrote:

HD 93129 is a triple star system in the Carina Nebula, with all three components being hot O class stars amongst the most luminous stars in the Milky Way. It is the dominant member of the Trumpler 14 star cluster, a young star cluster within the Carina OB1 stellar association that harbors other super luminous stars, like Eta Carinae and WR 25.
...
All three stars of HD 93129 are among the most luminous in the galaxy;[5] 1,480,000 L☉ for the supergiant primary and 575,000 L☉ for each of the other two stars. They are also among the hottest, with the supergiant at 42,500 K and the other two at 52,000 K. The stars have masses calculated to be between 70 M☉ and 110 M☉.

HD 93129Aa has left the main sequence and its age is estimated to be around 900,000 years. The existence of the zero-age main sequence stars within Trumpler 14 suggest its age may be less than 600,000 years.

[wolfie138]

why is that cloud so black? As far as I can tell from my rubbish monitor, it has no reflection/illumination from any of the ambient light; given how bright the rest of the image is, it looks very odd.

Keep in mind that in order to maximize detail, astronomical images are normally stretched so that the darkest features render as very close to black, and the brightest as very close to white. You'd have to look at the source data to determine the actual recorded brightness of the cloud, which may well be something other than zero (i.e. "black").

If you look closely even at the processed image the blob is not rendered anywhere as black. All the pixel values are greater than zero, and if we stretch the contrast out we can see that structure is apparent in it.
_
blob.jpg

thanks for that