Dust and Gas Surrounding Star R Coronae Australis
Explanation:
Young star R Coronae Australis has a dusty home.
The
dust is so thick
on the upper left of the
above photograph that little light from
background stars comes through.
Thinner
dust near the stars reflects light from
R Coronae Australis (upper right) and neighbor
TY Coronae Australis,
giving their surroundings a flowing appearance.
Were these stars more massive they would emit
light energetic enough to
ionize much of the nearly invisible surrounding
hydrogen gas, causing it to appear
bright red.
The unusual structure above the center is a
Herbig-Haro object,
a knot of gas ejected from the star that has
impacted surrounding gas.
R Coronae Australis
is about 500 light-years away,
while the region shown is about four
light years across.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
