Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SKY NIGHTLY
A Claret-Coloured Cloud With A Massive Heart
by Staff Writers
Paris, France (SPX) Oct 22, 2008


This image, based on data obtained with the Wide Field Imager (WFI) camera attached to the 2.2-m Max-Planck/ESO telescope through four different filters (B, V, R, and H-alpha), shows the amazing intricacies of the vast stellar nursery Gum 29. At its centre lies the cluster of young stars Westerlund 2. One object at the bottom of the cluster is in fact a system of two of most massive stars known to astronomers. Credit: ESO

A new image released by ESO shows the amazing intricacies of a vast stellar nursery, which goes by the name of Gum 29. In the centre, a small cluster of stars - called Westerlund 2 - has been found to be the home of one of the most massive double star systems known to astronomers.

Gum 29 is a huge region of hydrogen gas that has been stripped of its electrons (ionised) by the intense radiation of the hot young stars located at its centre.

Astronomers call this an HII (pronounced "H-two") region, and this particularly stunning example stretches out across space for over 200 light-years. The name stems from the fact that it is the 29th entry in the catalogue published by Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum in 1955.

Embedded deep within the huge, nebulous expanse of Gum 29, the relatively little known cluster of Westerlund 2 is clearly seen in the centre of this image. The latest measurements indicate that it lies at a distance of some 26 000 light-years from Earth, placing it towards the outside edge of the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way.

The cluster's distance has been the subject of intense scrutiny in the past, as it is one of the parameters needed to understand this intriguing object. Westerlund 2 is very young too, with an age of only 1-2 million years.

Previous observations have shown that two stars to the bottom right of the cluster are true leviathans. Together they form what is known as a double system. The two stars have masses of 82 and 83 times that of our Sun and rotate around each other in approximately 3.7 days. They are amongst the most massive stars known to astronomers.

Detailed observations of this intriguing pair have also shown that they are both Wolf-Rayet stars. These are massive stars nearing the end of their lives, expelling vast quantities of material as their final swansong. Observations made in X-rays have subsequently shown that streams of material from each star continually collide, creating a blaze of X-ray radiation.

The image was obtained with the Wide Field Imager (WFI) camera attached to the 2.2-m Max-Planck/ESO telescope at ESO's La Silla observatory site in Chile. Located at an altitude of 2400 metres in the arid Atacama Desert, this observatory sits under some of the clearest and darkest skies on Earth. The WFI excels at studying the farthest depths of the Universe from this unrivalled vantage point.

.


Related Links
ESO
Astronomy News from Skynightly.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SKY NIGHTLY
Great World Wide Star Count Starts 20th October
Boulder CO (SPX) Oct 17, 2008
Schoolchildren, families, and citizen scientists around the world will gaze skyward after dark from October 20 to November 3, looking for specific constellations and then sharing their observations through the Internet. The Great World Wide Star Count, now in its second year, helps scientists map light pollution globally while educating participants about the stars. The event, which ... read more


SKY NIGHTLY
India Shoots For The Moon In Asian Space Race

NASA Returns To The Moon With Instruments On Indian Spacecraft

Waterless Concrete Seen As Building Block On Moon

Lunar Lander Teams To Compete For NASA Prize

SKY NIGHTLY
Laser could aid search for life on Mars

Europe delays ExoMars mission, again

Phoenix Still Probing Mars For Secrets

Shooting Life On Mars

SKY NIGHTLY
Simulating Survival In Space

Astrotech Awarded ATK Ares I-X First Stage Processing Contract

British defence ministry releases UFO files

Building A Safer Space Together

SKY NIGHTLY
China To Launch FY-4 Weather Satellite Around 2013

Shenzhou 7 Astronauts In Good Health

Chinese Scientists Start Studying Samples From Shenzhou-7

China Sets Sights On First Space Station

SKY NIGHTLY
Expedition 18 Crew Docks With Space Station

Expedition 18 Crew Launches From Baikonur

Space station crew might not be expanded

Expedition 18 Crew To Launch From Baikonur

SKY NIGHTLY
SES Confirms Three New Arianespace Launches

NASA To Webcast IBEX Spacecraft Launch

New ASTRA 1M Satellite To Be Launched On 31 October

Ariane 5 Is Readied For A Dual-Payload Mission

SKY NIGHTLY
Young Earthlike Planets May Glow Brightly Enough To Be Found

Exotic Weather On Distant Worlds

Tides Have Major Impact On Planet Habitability

NASA Supercomputer Shows How Dust Rings Point To Exo-Earths

SKY NIGHTLY
NASA Launches IBEX Mission To Outer Solar System

MSV Awarded Patents For Next-Gen Satellite-Terrestrial Comms Network

Theory Explains Mysterious Nature Of Glass

Youngsters Flying High After Winning Top UK Space Competition




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement