Infrared wide angle view of RCW 108 (detail)

This image shows an area near the centre of a unique, wide-field infrared view of the region around IRAS 16362-4845, an "emission" nebula that shines by its own light. It is situated within a dark cloud in a Milky Way region (the "RCW 108 complex") at a distance of about 4,000 light-years in the direction of the Southern constellation of Ara (the Altar). The dark cloud is seen silhouetted against the rich background of stars in the Milky Way, whose light is blocked by the dust particles in the cloud. The photo is based on approx. 600 individual exposures with the SOFI instrument at the 3.58-m ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT).

Technical information: this image was obtained in February 2000 by means of SOFI, the infrared camera and spectrograph at the ESO 3.58-m New Technology Telescope (NTT). It is a smaller area near the centre of the field; it measures approx. 6.3 x 6.6 arcmin^2. North is up and East is left.

Crédito:

ESO

Sobre la imagen

Identificador:eso0037b
Tipo:Observación
Fecha de publicación:27 de Octubre de 2000
Noticias relacionadas:eso0037
Tamaño:2366 x 2520 px

Sobre el objeto

Nombre:RCW 108
Tipo:Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Dark : Molecular Cloud
Distancia:4000 años luz
Constellation:Ara
Categoría:Nebulae

Formatos de imagen

JPEG grande
3,0 MB

Fondo de pantalla

1024x768
593,3 KB
1280x1024
938,4 KB
1600x1200
1,2 MB
1920x1200
1,3 MB
2048x1536
1,8 MB

Coordenadas

Position (RA):16 40 0.16
Position (Dec):-48° 51' 45.25"

Colores y filtros

BandaTelescopio
New Technology Telescope
SOFI