The star-forming region Messier 17 in the constellation of Sagittarius
Digitized Sky Survey Image of the Omega Nebula (M 17)
Videos
This new image of the rose-coloured star forming region Messier 17 was captured by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is one of the sharpest images showing the entire nebula and not only reveals its full size but also retains fine detail throughout the cosmic landscape of gas clouds, dust and newborn stars.
The nebula pictured here may have had more names bestowed upon it
over the ages than any other object of its kind. Although officially
known as Messier 17, its nicknames include: the Omega Nebula,
the Swan Nebula, the Checkmark Nebula, the Horseshoe Nebula and — lest
those with more of a more marine bent miss out — the Lobster Nebula.
Messier 17 is located about 5500 light-years from Earth near the plane of the Milky Way and in the constellation of Sagittarius
(The Archer). The object spans a big section of the sky — its gas and
dust clouds measure about 15 light-years across. This material is
fueling the birth of new stars and the wide field of view of the new
picture reveals many stars in front of, in, or behind Messier 17.
The nebula appears as a complex red structure with some graduation to
pink. Its colouring is a signature of glowing hydrogen gas. The
short-lived blue stars that recently formed in Messier 17 emit enough ultraviolet light
to heat up surrounding gas to the extent that it begins to glow
brightly. In the central region the colours are lighter, and some parts
appear white. This white colour is real — it arises as a result of
mixing the light from the hottest gas with the starlight reflected by
dust.
The gas in the nebula is estimated to have more than 30 000 times the mass of the Sun. Messier 17 also contains an open star cluster of 35 stars, which is known as NGC 6618 [1].
The total number of stars in the nebula, however, is much higher —
there are almost 800 stars in the centre with even more forming in its
outer regions.
Throughout this rosy glow, the nebula shows a web of darker regions
of dust that obscure the light. This obscuring material is also glowing
and — although these areas are dark in this visible-light image — they
look bright when observed using infrared cameras.
The nebula owes its official name to the French comet hunter Charles Messier who included the nebula as the seventeenth object in his famous astronomical catalogue in 1764 [2]. But even with a name as bland as Messier 17, this flowery nebula still looks dazzling.
This picture comes from the ESO Cosmic Gems programme [3].
Notes
[1] This designation is also sometimes used for the entire star formation region.
[2] The astronomer Jean Philippe de Chéseaux
discovered the object in 1745, but his discovery did not receive
widespread attention. Thus, Messier independently rediscovered and
catalogued it almost 20 years later.
[3] The ESO Cosmic Gems programme is
an outreach initiative to produce images of interesting, intriguing or
visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes, for the purposes of
education and public outreach. The programme makes use of telescope time
that cannot be used for science observations. All data collected may
also be suitable for scientific purposes, and are made available to
astronomers through ESO’s science archive.
More Information
ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe
and the world’s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by
far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the
Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United
Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an
ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of
powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make
important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in
promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO
operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla,
Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large
Telescope, the world’s most advanced visible-light astronomical
observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and
is the world’s largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is
the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in
visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical
project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is
building the 39-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the E-ELT,
which will become “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.
Links
- 3D animation of Messier 17
- A wide view of Messier 17 from the VST
- A view of the nebula’s core from the VLT
- ESO Cosmic Gems programme
Contacts
Richard Hook
ESO Public Information Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6655
Cell: +49 151 1537 3591
Email: rhook@eso.org
ESO Public Information Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6655
Cell: +49 151 1537 3591
Email: rhook@eso.org
Source: ESO
