The region around the massive star IRS2

Colour composite image of the central part of the stellar cluster RCW 38, around the young, massive star IRS2, taken with the NACO adaptive optics instrument attached to ESO's Very Large Telescope. Thanks to this image, astronomers were able to discover that IRS2 is in fact a twin system composed of two almost equally massive stars. The astronomers also found a handful of protostars – the faintly luminous precursors to fully realised stars – and dozens of other candidate stars that have eked out an existence here despite the powerful ultraviolet light radiated by IRS2.

The image is based on near-infrared data taken through three different filters (J, H and K). The field of view is about 1 arcminute across.

Oikeudet:

ESO

Kuvasta

Tunnistus:eso0929a
Tyyppi:Havainto
Julkaisupäivä:19. elokuuta 2009
Vastaavat julkaisut:eso0929
Vastaavat tiedotteet:ann15076
Koko:947 x 934 px

Kohteesta

Nimi:RCW 38
Tyyppi:Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster
Etäisyys:5500 valovuotta
Constellation:Vela
Kategoria:Star Clusters

Kuvaformaatit

Suuri JPEG
156,1 KB
Kokoruudun JPEG
128,9 KB

Taustakuvat

1024x768
135,8 KB
1280x1024
202,6 KB
1600x1200
274,8 KB
1920x1200
310,5 KB
2048x1536
408,4 KB

Koordinaatit

Position (RA):8 59 5.77
Position (Dec):-47° 30' 37.56"
Field of view:0.85 x 0.84 arcminutes
Suuntaus:Pohjoinen on 0.0° oikea pystysuuntaan nähden

Värit ja suotimet

KaistaTeleskooppi
Infrapuna
J
Very Large Telescope
NACO
Infrapuna
H
Very Large Telescope
NACO
Infrapuna
K
Very Large Telescope
NACO