1 min read
Hubble Images 30 Doradus: the Effects of Massive Stars in R136
This region resembles a coral reef, but the gas has been eroded by the hefty stars in R136, situated above it. Cloaked in gas at the top of this rugged, gaseous terrain are nascent stars that cannot be seen. Dense columns of gas, several light-years long, protrude from the undulating landscape. These gaseous columns are incubators for developing stars.
30 Doradus is the brightest, nearby star-forming region and home to the most massive stars in our cosmic neighborhood of about 25 galaxies. The nebula is close enough to Earth that Hubble can resolve individual stars, giving astronomers important information about the stars' birth and evolution. 30 Doradus resides 170,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small, satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.05h 38m 42.36s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-69° 6' 3.24"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Dorado
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.Approximately 170,000 light-years (52,000 parsecs)
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.This image combines many exposures from the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) from the HST proposal 12499: D. Lennon and E. Sabbi (ESA/STScI), J. Anderson, S. E. de Mink, R. van der Marel, T. Sohn, and N. Walborn (STScI), N. Bastian (Excellence Cluster, Munich), L. Bedin (INAF, Padua), E. Bressert (ESO), P. Crowther (University of Sheffield), A. de Koter (University of Amsterdam), C. Evans (UKATC/STFC, Edinburgh), A. Herrero (IAC, Tenerife), N. Langer (AifA, Bonn), I. Platais (JHU), and H. Sana (University of Amsterdam). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>ACS/WFC, HST>WFC3/UVIS, and ESO 2.2m Telescope>WFI
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.October 2011 (HST), and January 2006 (ESO)
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.ACS/WFC and WFC3/UVIS: F775W (SDSS i) ESO: OIII/8 and H-alpha/7
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Tarantula Nebula, 30 Doradus, 30 Dor, NGC 2070
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Emission Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
- Release DateApril 17, 2012
- Science ReleaseHubble’s 22nd Anniversary Image Shows Turbulent Star-making Region
- CreditNASA, ESA, D. Lennon and E. Sabbi (ESA/STScI), J. Anderson, S. E. de Mink, R. van der Marel, T. Sohn, and N. Walborn (STScI), N. Bastian (Excellence Cluster, Munich), L. Bedin (INAF, Padua), E. Bressert (ESO), P. Crowther (University of Sheffield), A. de Koter (University of Amsterdam), C. Evans (UKATC/STFC, Edinburgh), A. Herrero (IAC, Tenerife), N. Langer (AifA, Bonn), I. Platais (JHU), and H. Sana (University of Amsterdam)
This image is a composite of many separate exposures made by the ACS and WFC3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope along with ESO 2.2m ground-based observations. In total, two filters were used to sample narrow wavelength emission and two filters were used to sample broadband wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Red: ESO H-alpha (656nm) Green: ESO average of H-alpha+[O III] Blue: ESO [O III] (502nm) Luminosity*: ACS/WFC F775W + WFC3/UVIS F775W * The higher-resolution, black & white Hubble image and the lower-resolution, color ESO images were combined using a technique that takes luminosity (brightness) information from the black and white ACS/WFC3 image and color information from the composite ESO image. This preserves all of the higher-resolution detail from the Hubble data while rendering a color image representing the physical processes in this active region of space.
Related Images & Videos
Hubble's Panoramic View of a Turbulent Star-making Region
Several million young stars are vying for attention in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of a raucous stellar breeding ground in 30 Doradus, located in the heart of the Tarantula Nebula. Early astronomers nicknamed the nebula because its glowing filaments resemble spider...
Close-up Images of 30 Doradus Features
From massive star clusters to sculpted gas embedded with fledgling stars, these four close-up images underscore why 30 Doradus, located in the heart of the Tarantula Nebula, is a star-making factory. 30 Doradus is the brightest, nearby star-forming region and home to the most...
Hubble Images 30 Doradus: NGC 2070
The nebula's sparkling centerpiece is a giant, young star cluster named NGC 2070, only 2 million years old. Its stellar inhabitants number roughly 500,000. The cluster is a hotbed for young, massive stars. The cluster's dense core, known as R136, is packed with some of the...
Hubble Images 30 Doradus: Hodge 301
The star cluster Hodge 301 is 20 million to 25 million years old. Hodge 301 is home to many aging, red supergiant stars, indicating the cluster is older. Roughly 40 massive stars already have exploded as supernovas. The expanding wave of debris is slamming into gas ejected by...
Hubble Images 30 Doradus: NGC 2060
The star cluster NGC 2060 is a loose collection of stars that are no longer gravitationally bound to each other. The stellar grouping will disperse in a few million years. It contains a supernova that exploded about 10,000 years ago, blowing out gas surrounding it. The dark...
The Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
A Hubble Space Telescope composite image of a portion of the Tarantula Nebula's central cavity illustrates the profound effect new stars can have on their environment. The young stars of 30 Doradus are acting something like cosmic, decidedly non-eco-friendly light bulbs. Each...
Tarantula Nebula Annotated Map
This annotated map identifies several prominent features in an image of the Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus), a prominent region of star formation located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the nearest neighboring galaxy to the Milky Way. The image was produced from...
Zoom and Pan into 30 Doradus (with narration and music)
This video is a zoom into the largest star-forming region in the satellite galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud. At the heart of the small galaxy is the Tarantula nebula. Hubble unveils a rich tapestry of star birth and star destruction among its millions of stars. The video zooms...
Zoom and Pan into 30 Doradus (without audio)
This video is a zoom into the largest star-forming region in the satellite galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud. At the heart of the small galaxy is the Tarantula nebula. Hubble unveils a rich tapestry of star birth and star destruction among its millions of stars. The video zooms...
Share
Details
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
