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Credit & Copyright: Hubble Heritage Team,
D. Gouliermis
(MPI Heidelberg) et al.,
(STScI/AURA),
ESA,
NASA
Explanation:
How do stars form?
To better understand this complex and chaotic process, astronomers used the
Hubble Space Telescope
to image in unprecedented detail the star forming region
LH 95 in the nearby
Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy.
Usually only the brightest, bluest, most massive stars in a
star forming region
are visible, but the
above image was taken in such high resolution and in such specific colors
that many recently formed stars that are more yellow, more dim,
and less massive are also discernable.
Also visible in the
above scientifically colored
image
is a blue sheen of diffuse
hydrogen gas heated by the
young stars, and
dark dust
created by stars or during
supernova explosions.
Studying the locations and abundances of
lower mass stars in star forming regions and around
molecular clouds helps uncover what conditions
were present when they formed.
LH 95
spans about 150
light years and lies about 160,000 light years away toward the southern
constellation of the
Swordfish (Dorado.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: LMC - star formation
Publications with words: LMC - star formation
See also: