Stellar nursery NGC 3603*

NGC 3603 is a starburst region : a cosmic factory where stars form frantically from the nebula’s extended clouds of gas and dust. Located 22,000 light-years away from the Sun, it is the closest region of this kind known in our galaxy, providing astronomers with a local test bed for studying the intense star formation processes, very common in other galaxies, but hard to observe in detail because of their large distance.

The newly released image, obtained with the FORS instrument attached to one of the four 8.2-metre VLT Unit Telescopes at Cerro Paranal, Chile, is a three-colour combination of exposures acquired through visible and near-infrared (V, R, I) filters. This image portrays a wider field around the stellar cluster and reveals the rich texture of the surrounding clouds of gas and dust. The field of view is 7 arcminutes wide.

 

This image is available as a mounted image in the ESOshop.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso1005a
Type:Observation
Release date:3 February 2010, 12:00
Related releases:eso1005
Size:2129 x 2148 px

About the Object

Name:NGC 3603
Type:Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Open
Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation
Distance:22000 light years
Constellation:Carina
Category:Nebulae
Star Clusters

Mounted Image

Image Formats

Large JPEG
1.6 MB
Screensize JPEG
426.1 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x768
382.2 KB
1280x1024
565.0 KB
1600x1200
738.4 KB
1920x1200
809.7 KB
2048x1536
1.1 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):11 15 9.16
Position (Dec):-61° 16' 17.49"
Field of view:8.96 x 9.04 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.0° left of vertical

Colours & filters

BandTelescope
Infrared
I
Very Large Telescope
FORS1
Optical
V
Very Large Telescope
FORS1
Optical
R
Very Large Telescope
FORS1