Pressmeddelande

“Smiling Cat”-nebulosan fångad i ny ESO-bild

27 juni 2023, Skurup

Detta moln av orange och rött är en del av nebulosan Sh2-284 som här ses i spektakulär detaljrikedom med hjälp av data från VLT Survey Telescope, som European Southern Observatory (ESO) är värd för. Denna nebulosa rymmer mängder av unga stjärnor som bildats i täta områden av gas och stoft. I nebulosans form kanske du kan urskilja ansiktet på en katt som ler mot oss från himlen.

Stjärnbildningsområdet Sh2-284 är ett enormt moln av stoft och gas vars ljusaste del, som ses på denna bild, har en utsträckning av cirka 150 ljusår. Nebulosan ligger cirka 15 000 ljusår från jorden i stjärnbilden Enhörningen (Monoceros).

 

Inbäddad i mitten av den ljusaste delen av nebulosan – precis under "kattens näsa" finns en hop av unga stjärnor med namnet Dolidze 25 som producerar stora mängder intensiv strålning och stjärnvindar. Strålningen är tillräckligt energirik för att jonisera vätgasen i molnet vilket ger upphov till dess ljusa orange och röda färger. Det är i gas- och stoftmoln av detta slag som vi hittar byggstenarna till nya stjärnor.

 

Vindarna från den centrala stjärnhopen trycker bort gasen och stoftet i nebulosan och urholkar dess centrum. När stjärnvindarna stöter på täta delar av molnet eroderas materialet runt dessa bort. Detta skapar mörka pelare i de yttre regionerna av Sh2-284 som pekar mot mitten av nebulosan, till exempel den till höger i bild. Även om dessa pelare ter sig små på bilden är de i själva verket många  ljusår långa och innehåller enorma mängder gas och stoft ur vilka nya stjärnor bildas.

 

Bilden skapades med hjälp av data från VLT Survey Telescope (VST), som ägs av National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) i Italien och är beläget på ESO:s Paranalobservatorium i Chile. VST kartlägger den södra himlen i synligt ljus med hjälp av en kamera med 256 miljoner pixlar, utformad för att avbilda mycket stora fält på himlen. Den här bilden är en del av projektet VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Bulge (VPHAS+), som har undersökt omkring 500 miljoner objekt i vår hemgalax och ger oss bättre kunskaper om stjärnors födelse, liv och död i Vintergatan.

 

Länkar

Kontakter

Juan Carlos Muñoz Mateos
ESO Media Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6176
E-post: jmunoz@eso.org

Bárbara Ferreira
ESO Media Manager
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6670
Mobil: +49 151 241 664 00
E-post: press@eso.org

Johan Warell (Presskontakt för Sverige)
ESO:s nätverk för vetenskaplig kommunikation
Skurup, Sverige
Tel: +46-706-494731
E-post: eson-sweden@eso.org

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Detta är den översatta versionen av ESO:s pressmeddelande eso2309 som har tagits fram inom ESON, ett nätverk av medarbetare i ESO:s medlemsländer. ESON-representanterna fungerar som lokala kontaktpersoner för media i samband med ESO:s pressmeddelanden och andra händelser. ESON:s kontaktperson i Sverige är Johan Warell.

Om pressmeddelandet

Pressmeddelande nr:eso2309sv
Namn:Sh2-284
Typ:Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission : H II Region
Facility:VLT Survey Telescope
Instruments:OmegaCAM

Bilder

Nebulosan SH2-284 avbildad med VLT Survey telescope
Nebulosan SH2-284 avbildad med VLT Survey telescope
Enorma pelare vid randen av nebulosan Sh2-284
Enorma pelare vid randen av nebulosan Sh2-284
Nebulosan Sh2-284 i stjärnbilden Enhörningen (Monoceros)
Nebulosan Sh2-284 i stjärnbilden Enhörningen (Monoceros)
Himlen runt nebulosan Sh2-284
Himlen runt nebulosan Sh2-284

Videor

Rundvandring vid nebulosan Sh2-284
Rundvandring vid nebulosan Sh2-284
Inzoomning mot nebulosan Sh2-284
Inzoomning mot nebulosan Sh2-284
Panning across the Sh2-284 nebula (no text)
Panning across the Sh2-284 nebula (no text)
text på engelska

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