Starship Asterisk*

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 featured image shown in colors emitted predominantly by hydrogen and oxygen. 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 in the image center. 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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APOD Robot wrote: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.

Most people don't have a very good sense of the actual size of the Moon, so some other comparisons:

It's 26° from the tip of the handle to the end of the cup of the Big Dipper.
It's 19° from the top to the bottom of the primary asterism in Orion.
It's 27° from Sirius to orange Betelgeuse on Orion's shoulder.
It's 22° from the top to the bottom of the Northern Cross (Cygnus).
It's 17° from the heart of Scorpius, Antares, to the tip of the stinger.

30° on the sky is really big!

The colors of the picture struck me as somewhat weird, but an excellent explanation was given here. Thank you!

Ann

Did they choose this picture for the election? It looks like an Democratic urban area surrounded by a rural Republican area. The Washington Post had some precinct-level voting maps showing this urban-vs-rural phenomenon the other day. Columbus Ohio looked just like this APOD.

And the webs they weave are more a like a silky cave in which the unsuspecting are doomed.

Nice choice for today.

John3245 wrote:Did they choose this picture for the election? It looks like an Democratic urban area surrounded by a rural Republican area. The Washington Post had some precinct-level voting maps showing this urban-vs-rural phenomenon the other day. Columbus Ohio looked just like this APOD.

Hm - a part of the inside looks curiously like a Trump comb-over to me...

Asterhole wrote:

John3245 wrote:Did they choose this picture for the election? It looks like an Democratic urban area surrounded by a rural Republican area. The Washington Post had some precinct-level voting maps showing this urban-vs-rural phenomenon the other day. Columbus Ohio looked just like this APOD.

Hm - a part of the inside looks curiously like a Trump comb-over to me...

Trump's hair, tarantula web... potayto, potahto.

APOD Robot wrote:
...the cosmic Tarantula also lies near the site of the closest recent supernova.

SN 1987A seems to be located close to where the bluish-purple nebula at far right can be found in today's APOD. That blue thing doesn't look much like SN 1987A to me, and among other things, it looks rather too big for a supernova remnant that has only been expanding since 1987. So I guess the blue nebula isn't SN 1987A. Is the supernova remnant visible in today's APOD?

Ann

Ann wrote:

APOD Robot wrote:
...the cosmic Tarantula also lies near the site of the closest recent supernova.

SN 1987A seems to be located close to where the bluish-purple nebula at far right can be found in today's APOD. That blue thing doesn't look much like SN 1987A to me, and among other things, it looks rather too big for a supernova remnant that has only been expanding since 1987. So I guess the blue nebula isn't SN 1987A. Is the supernova remnant visible in today's APOD?

I think it's actually off the frame to the lower right.

would it not be ironic if light was the dark atter physicists are looking for ? watch the science channell as feverishly I watched the first human landing on the moon and and I think it was one physicist used the word light in the same sentence as dark matter. Hmmmm ?

Ann wrote:

APOD Robot wrote:
...the cosmic Tarantula also lies near the site of the closest recent supernova.

SN 1987A seems to be located close to where the bluish-purple nebula at far right can be found in today's APOD. That blue thing doesn't look much like SN 1987A to me, and among other things, it looks rather too big for a supernova remnant that has only been expanding since 1987. So I guess the blue nebula isn't SN 1987A. Is the supernova remnant visible in today's APOD?

On closer examination, I agree with your placement. But at the scale of this image, we can't really see the supernova remnant. Here's the region from today's image at full scale, with the arrow pointing to the SN between those two stars. The inset shows how it actually appears.

Thanks, Chris!

Ann

I just noticed the descriptor " schooled " under my APOD name .. That was not an option when I joined the group. It is a very correct description of my track record in this world.. By the way I have a lively keybord and " atter " was supposed to be " matter "

It's been like that forever. I think I changed it when you said yourself that you just got schooled. Your humility and humor always amuses me.

the " rolling cloud " thing