|
Credit & Copyright: Luca Fornaciari
Explanation:
Gorgeous spiral galaxy M33 seems to have more than its fair share of
glowing hydrogen gas.
A prominent member of the local group of galaxies, M33 is also
known as the Triangulum Galaxy and
lies a mere 3 million light-years away.
Sprawling along loose spiral arms that wind toward the core,
M33's giant
HII regions are
some of the largest known stellar nurseries,
sites of the formation of short-lived but very massive stars.
Intense ultraviolet radiation
from the luminous massive stars ionizes
the surrounding hydrogen gas and
ultimately produces the characteristic red glow.
To highlight the HII regions in this telescopic image,
broadband data used to produce a color view
of the galaxy were combined with narrowband data recorded through a
hydrogen-alpha filter,
transmitting the light of the strongest
hydrogen
emission line.
Close-ups of cataloged HII regions appear in the sidebar insets.
Use the individual reference number to
find their location within the Triangulum Galaxy.
For example, giant
HII
region NGC604
is identified in an inset on the right and appears at position number 15.
That's about 4 o'clock from galaxy center in
this
portrait of M33.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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: HII region - M 33
Publications with words: HII region - M 33
See also: