The Tarantula Nebula

Located inside the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) – one of our closest galaxies – in what some describe as a frightening sight, the Tarantula nebula is worth looking at in detail. Also known as 30 Doradus or NGC 2070, the nebula owes its name to the arrangement of its bright patches that somewhat resemble the legs of a tarantula. Taking the name of one of the biggest spiders on Earth is very fitting in view of the gigantic proportions of this celestial nebula — it measures nearly 1,000 light years across ! Its proximity, the favourable inclination of the LMC, and the absence of intervening dust make this nebula one of the best laboratories to better understand the formation of massive stars. This spectacular nebula is energised by an exceptionally high concentration of massive stars, often referred to as super star clusters. This image is based on data acquired with the 1.5 m Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile, through three filters (B: 80 s, V: 60 s, R: 50 s).

Credit:

ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R. Gendler, C. C. Thöne, C. Féron, and J.-E. Ovaldsen

About the Image

Id:tarantula
Type:Observation
Release date:3 December 2009, 23:19
Size:2037 x 2077 px

About the Object

Name:30 Doradus, Large Magellanic Cloud, LMC, NGC 2070, Tarantula Nebula
Type:Local Universe : Nebula
Distance:170000 light years
Constellation:Dorado
Category:Nebulae

Image Formats

Large JPEG
1.9 MB
Screensize JPEG
502.9 KB

Wallpapers

1024x768
451.7 KB
1280x1024
687.8 KB
1600x1200
942.1 KB
1920x1200
1.1 MB
2048x1536
1.4 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):5 38 42.61
Position (Dec):-69° 6' 3.89"
Field of view:13.43 x 13.70 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 134.7° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandTelescope
Optical
B
Danish 1.54-metre telescope
Optical
V
Danish 1.54-metre telescope
Optical
R
Danish 1.54-metre telescope