Composite infrared and radio image of 30 Doradus
This composite image shows the star-forming region 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula. The background image, taken in the infrared, is itself a composite: it was captured by the HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), shows bright stars and light, pinkish clouds of hot gas. The bright red-yellow streaks that have been superimposed on the image come from radio observations taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), revealing regions of cold, dense gas which have the potential to collapse and form stars. The unique web-like structure of the gas clouds led astronomers to the nebula’s spidery nickname.
Credit:ESO, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/Wong et al., ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
About the Image
Id: | eso2209a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 15 June 2022, 19:15 |
Related releases: | eso2210, eso2209 |
Size: | 4983 x 3930 px |
About the Object
Name: | 30 Doradus, Tarantula Nebula |
Type: | Local Universe : Nebula : Type : Star Formation |
Constellation: | Dorado |
Category: | Nebulae |
Image Formats
Wallpapers
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 5 38 45.17 |
Position (Dec): | -69° 4' 37.05" |
Field of view: | 8.32 x 6.56 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 90.1° right of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Infrared Y | 1.021 μm | Very Large Telescope HAWK-I |
Infrared Y | 1.02 μm | Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy VIRCAM |
Infrared Ks | 2.146 μm | Very Large Telescope HAWK-I |
Infrared Y | 1.021 μm | Very Large Telescope HAWK-I |
Infrared J | 1.25 μm | Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy VIRCAM |
Millimeter 13CO | 1.36 mm | Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Band 6 |
Infrared Ks | 2.15 μm | Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy VIRCAM |
Infrared Ks | 2.146 μm | Very Large Telescope HAWK-I |
Millimeter 12CO | 1.3 mm | Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Band 6 |