Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня RCW 85 http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1931303/eng |
Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh
Explanation:
From the 1960 astronomical catalog of
Rodgers,
Campbell and Whiteoak,
emission region RCW 85 shines in
southern night skies between bright stars Alpha and Beta Centauri.
About 5,000 light years distant, the hazy interstellar cloud of glowing
hydrogen gas and dust is faint.
But detailed structures along well-defined rims
within RCW 85 are traced in
this cosmic skyscape
composed
of 28 hours of narrow and broadband exposures.
Suggestive of dramatic shapes in other
stellar nurseries
where natal
clouds of gas and dust are sculpted by energetic winds and radiation
from newborn stars, the tantalizing nebula has been called the Devil's Tower.
This telescopic frame would span around 100 light-years
at the estimated distance
of RCW 85.
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.