N11: Star Clouds of the LMC
Explanation:
Massive stars, abrasive winds, mountains of
dust, and
energetic light
sculpt one of the largest and most picturesque regions of
star formation in the
Local Group of Galaxies.
Known as N11,
the region is
visible on the upper right of many images of its home galaxy, the
Milky Way neighbor known as the
Large Magellanic Clouds (LMC).
The
featured image was taken for
scientific purposes by the Hubble Space Telescope and
reprocessed
for artistry by an amateur to win a
Hubble's Hidden
Treasures competition.
Although the section imaged above is known as
NGC 1763,
the entire N11 emission nebula is second in LMC size only to the
Tarantula Nebula.
Compact
globules of dark dust
housing emerging young stars are also visible around the image.
A
new study of
variable stars in the LMC with
Hubble has helped to recalibrate the
distance scale
of the
observable universe, but resulted in a
slightly
different scale
than
found using
the pervasive
cosmic microwave background.
Astrophysicists:
Browse 1,900+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library
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.
