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The Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus):
A Drama of Star Formation and Evolution
The Chandra image of the Tarantula Nebula gives
scientists a close-up view of the drama of star
formation and evolution. The Tarantula, also known
as 30 Doradus, is in one of the most active
star-forming regions in our Local Group of galaxies.
Massive stars are producing intense radiation and
searing winds of multimillion-degree gas that carve out
gigantic super-bubbles in the surrounding gas. Other
massive stars have raced through their evolution and
exploded catastrophically as supernovas, leaving behind
pulsars and expanding remnants that trigger the
collapse of giant clouds of dust and gas to form new
generations of stars.
30 Doradus is located about 160,000 light years from
Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy
of our Milky Way Galaxy. It allows astronomers to study
the details of starbursts - episodes of extremely
prolific star formation that play an important role in
the evolution of galaxies.
At least 11 extremely massive stars with ages of about
2 million years are detected in the bright star cluster
in the center of the primary image (left panel). This
crowded region contains many more stars whose X-ray
emission is unresolved. The brightest source in this
region known as Melnick 34, a 130 solar-mass star
located slightly to the lower left of center. On the
lower right of this panel is the supernova remnant
N157B, with its central pulsar.
Two off-axis ACIS-S chips (right panel) were used to
expand the field of view. They show SNR N157C, possibly
a large shell-like supernova remnant or a wind-blown
bubble created by OB stars. Supernova
1987A is also visible just above and to the right
of the Honeycomb Nebula at the bottom center.
In the image, lower energy X-rays appear red, medium
energy green and high-energy are blue.
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Fast Facts for The
Tarantula Nebula (30
Doradus):
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Credit
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NASA/CXC/Penn State/L.Townsley et al.
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Scale
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Left panel is 16 arcmin on a side.
Right panel is 8 by 16 arcmin.
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Category
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Normal Stars & Star Clusters
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Coordinates
(J2000)
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RA 05h 38m 42.9s | Dec -69º 06'
3"
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Constellation
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Dorado
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Observation
Date
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September 22, 1999
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Observation
Time
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6.5 hours
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Obs.
ID
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22, 62520
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Color
Code
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Lower energy X-rays appear red,
medium energy green and high-energy
are blue.
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Instrument
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ACIS
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Distance
Estimate
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160,000 light years
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Also Known As
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30 Doradus
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Release Date
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April 23, 2002
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