Thackerays Globules
Explanation:
These are larger dust
bunnies
than you will find under your bed.
Situated in
rich star fields
and glowing hydrogen gas, these opaque clouds of
interstellar dust
and gas are so large they might be able to form stars.
Their home is known as
IC 2944,
a bright stellar nursery located about 5,900 light years away toward the
constellation of
Centaurus.
The largest of these
dark globules,
first spotted by South African astronomer
A. D. Thackeray in 1950,
is likely two separate but overlapping clouds, each more than one
light-year wide.
Along with other data, the
above representative color image from the
4-m Blanco telescope at
Cerro Tololo,
Chile indicates that
Thackeray's globules are fractured and churning as a result
of intense ultraviolet radiation from young, hot stars already
energizing and heating the bright
emission nebula.
These and similar
dark globules known to be associated with other star
forming regions may ultimately be dissipated by their hostile environment --
like
cosmic lumps of
butter in a hot frying pan.
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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.
