N44C: A Nebular Mystery
Explanation:
Why is
N44C glowing so strangely?
The star that appears to powers the nebula,
although young and bright,
does not seem hot enough to create some of the colors observed.
A search for a hidden hotter star in
X-rays has come up empty.
One hypothesis is that the known central star has a
neutron star companion in a very
wide orbit.
Hot X-rays might only then be
emitted during brief periods when the
neutron star
nears the known star and crashes through a
disk of surrounding gas.
Future observations might tell.
N44C,
pictured in the above
Hubble Space Telescope image, is an
emission nebula
in the
Large Magellanic Cloud,
a neighboring galaxy to our
Milky Way Galaxy.
Flowing filaments of
colorful gas and
dark
dust
far from the brightest region are likely part of the greater
N44 complex.
It would take light about 125 years to cross N44C.
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.
