New Stars Destroying NGC 1748
Explanation:
NGC 1748 cannot contain all the new stars it has formed.
The young stars, the most massive of which are
bright blue,
emit so much energy they are pushing out and dispersing the
gas and
dust
that comprise
this
star forming nebula.
Within only the past hundred thousand years,
these stars have altered the
bubble-like shape of the nebula and will
likely destroy the nebula over the next few million years.
Of
particular interest is a bright region surrounded by a pink
ring of
dust and gas visible on the left of the
above
recently released picture by the
Hubble Space Telescope.
The center of this region is being evacuated by the
wind
of the brightest star in the nebula.
A lane of cooler dust connects NGC 1748 to a larger
more diffuse nebula seen on the right.
NGC
1748 spans about 25
light-years in diameter and can be found in our
galactic neighbor: the
Large Magellanic Cloud.
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.
