Nota de prensa
UN ÁGUILA DE PROPORCIONES CÓSMICAS
16 de Julio de 2009
ESO ha publicado hoy una nueva e impresionante imagen del cielo alrededor de la Nebulosa del Águila, una maternidad estelar donde cúmulos enteros se forjan en el interior de monstruosas columnas de gas y polvo.
Ubicada a 7.000 años-luz de distancia en la constelación de Serpens (la Serpiente), la Nebulosa del Águila es una deslumbrante maternidad estelar, una región de gas y polvo donde estrellas jóvenes se están formando continuamente; entre ellas, acaba de nacer NGC 6611, un cúmulo de estrellas masivas y calientes. La luz intensa y los fuertes vientos emitidos por estas estrellas masivas, esculpen pilares de años-luz de longitud, cuyas siluetas destacan en la imagen sobre el fondo brillante de la nebulosa. La nebulosa misma presenta una forma que recuerda vagamente a un águila, donde los pilares centrales serían las garras.
El cúmulo estelar fue descubierto en 1745–46 por el astrónomo suizo Jean Philippe Loys de Chéseaux. Fue redescubierto de manera independiente veinte años más tarde por el cazador de cometas francés Charles Messier, quien lo incluyó con el nombre de M16 en su famoso catálogo, destacando que las estrellas estaban rodeadas por un débil brillo difuso. La Nebulosa del Águila alcanzó la celebridad en 1995, cuando sus pilares centrales fueron fotografiados en la famosa imagen obtenida por el Telescopio Espacial Hubble de ESA/NASA. En 2001, el Very Large Telescope (VLT) de ESO capturó otra sorprendente imagen de la nebulosa (ESO Press Photo 37/01) en el infrarrojo cercano, penetrando así el polvo y mostrando claramente las estrellas en formación dentro de los pilares.
La imagen recién publicada, obtenida con la Cámara de Campo Amplio instalada en el telescopio MPG/ESO de 2.2 metros, en el Observatorio La Silla, en Chile, cubre un área del cielo del tamaño de la Luna llena, siendo éste un campo 15 veces más amplio que el de la anterior imagen del VLT y 200 veces más amplio que el de la célebre imagen del Hubble en luz visible. La región entera alrededor de los pilares es visible en exquisito detalle.
Los “Pilares de la Creación” están en el centro de la imagen, acompañados, arriba a la derecha, por el cúmulo de estrellas jóvenes NGC 6611. El “Capitel” — otro pilar capturado por el Hubble — está en el centro-izquierda de la imagen.
Estructuras con forma de dedos emergen de la enorme pared de la nube de gas y polvo, como estalagmitas surgiendo del suelo de una cueva. Dentro de los pilares, el gas es suficientemente denso para colapsar bajo su propio peso, formando estrellas jóvenes. Estas columnas de gas y polvo, de años-luz de largo, son esculpidas, iluminadas y destruidas a la vez por la intensa radiación ultravioleta emitida por las estrellas masivas de NGC 6611, el cúmulo joven adyacente. Dentro de unos pocos millones de años –un mero parpadeo del gran ojo universal- desaparecerán para siempre.
Contactos
Henri Boffin
ESO
Garching, Germany
Teléfono: +49 89 3200 6222
Correo electrónico: hboffin@eso.org
Francisco Rodríguez (Contacto para medios de comunicación en Chile)
Red de Difusión Científica de ESO
y European Southern Observatory
Teléfono: +56-2-463-3151
Correo electrónico: eson-chile@eso.org
Acerca de la nota de prensa
| Nota de prensa No.: | eso0926es-cl |
| Legacy ID: | PR 26/09 |
| Nombre: | Eagle Nebula |
| Tipo: | Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Open Milky Way : Nebula |
| Facility: | MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope, Very Large Telescope |
| Instruments: | WFI |
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