A massive laboratory
Wide-field view of the Tarantula Nebula and its surroundings (ground-based image)
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Pan across LHA 120-N150
This scene of stellar creation, captured
by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, sits near the outskirts of the
famous Tarantula Nebula. This cloud of gas and dust, as well as the many
young and massive stars surrounding it, is the perfect laboratory to
study the origin of massive stars.
The bright pink cloud and the young stars surrounding it in this image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have the uninspiring name LHA 120-N 150. This region of space is located on the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula, which is the largest known stellar nursery in the local Universe. The nebula is situated over 160 000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighbouring irregular dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way.
The Large Magellanic Cloud has had one or more close encounters in the past, possibly with the Small Magellanic Cloud.
These interactions have caused an episode of energetic star formation
in our tiny neighbour — part of which is visible as the Tarantula
Nebula.
Also known as 30 Doradus or NGC 2070, the Tarantula Nebula
owes its name to the arrangement of bright patches that somewhat
resemble the legs of a tarantula. It measures nearly 1000 light-years
across. Its proximity, the favourable inclination of the Large
Magellanic Cloud, and the absence of intervening dust make the Tarantula
Nebula one of the best laboratories in which to study the formation of
stars, in particular massive stars. This nebula has an exceptionally
high concentration of massive stars, often referred to as super star
clusters.
Astronomers have studied LHA 120-N 150 to learn more about
the environment in which massive stars form. Theoretical models of the
formation of massive stars suggest that they should form within clusters
of stars; but observations indicate that up to ten percent of them also
formed in isolation. The giant Tarantula Nebula with its numerous
substructures is the perfect laboratory in which to resolve this puzzle
as in it massive stars can be found both as members of clusters and in
isolation.
With the help of Hubble, astronomers try to find out
whether the isolated stars visible in the nebula truly formed alone or
just moved away from their stellar siblings. However, such a study is
not an easy task; young stars, before they are fully formed — especially
massive ones — look very similar to dense clumps of dust.
LHA 120-N 150 contains several dozen of these objects. They
are a mix of unclassified sources — some probably young stellar objects
and others probably dust clumps. Only detailed analysis and
observations will reveal their true nature and that will help to finally
solve the unanswered question of the origin of massive stars.
Hubble has observed the Tarantula Nebula and its
substructures in the past — always being interested in the formation and
evolution of stars.
More Information
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.
The scientific results of this observation were previously published in the Astrophyiscal Journal.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, I. Stephens.
Links
Contacts
Bethany Downer
ESA/Hubble, Public Information Officer
Garching, Germany
Source: ESA/Hubble/News
