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Credit & Copyright: John P. Gleason
Explanation:
An alluring sight
in dark southern skies, the
Large
Magellanic Cloud
(LMC) is seen here through a narrow filter that transmits only
the red light of hydrogen atoms.
Ionized
by energetic starlight, a hydrogen atom emits the
characteristic red
H-alpha light
as its single electron is
recaptured and transitions to lower energy states.
As a result, this image of the LMC seems covered with
shell-shaped clouds of hydrogen gas
surrounding massive, young stars.
Sculpted by the strong stellar winds and ultraviolet radiation,
the glowing
hydrogen clouds are known as
H II
(ionized hydrogen) regions.
This high resolution mosaic view was recorded in 6 segments, each with
200 minutes of exposure time.
Itself composed of many overlapping shells,
the Tarantula Nebula,
is the large star forming region near top center.
A satellite of our Milky Way Galaxy, the LMC is about 15,000 light-years
across and lies a mere 180,000 light-years away in the constellation
Dorado.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: hydrogen - emission nebula - star formation - LMC - HII region - Tarantula Nebula
Publications with words: hydrogen - emission nebula - star formation - LMC - HII region - Tarantula Nebula
See also: