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




STELLAR CHEMISTRY
A study in scarlet
by Staff Writers
Munich, Germany (SPX) Apr 19, 2014


This new image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile reveals a cloud of hydrogen and newborn stars called Gum 41. In the middle of this little-known nebula, brilliant hot young stars emit energetic radiation that causes the surrounding hydrogen to glow with a characteristic red hue. Image courtesy ESO.

This area of the southern sky, in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur), is home to many bright nebulae, each associated with hot newborn stars that formed out of the clouds of hydrogen gas.

The intense radiation from the stellar newborns excites the remaining hydrogen around them, making the gas glow in the distinctive shade of red typical of star-forming regions. Another famous example of this phenomenon is the Lagoon Nebula (eso0936 - http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0936/), a vast cloud that glows in similar bright shades of scarlet.

The nebula in this picture is located some 7300 light-years from Earth. Australian astronomer Colin Gum discovered it on photographs taken at the Mount Stromlo Observatory near Canberra, and included it in his catalogue of 84 emission nebulae, published in 1955.

Gum 41 is actually one small part of a bigger structure called the Lambda Centauri Nebula, also known by the more exotic name of the Running Chicken Nebula (another part of which was the topic of eso1135 - http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1135/). Gum died at a tragically early age in a skiing accident in Switzerland in 1960.

In this picture of Gum 41, the clouds appear to be quite thick and bright, but this is actually misleading. If a hypothetical human space traveller could pass through this nebula, it is likely that they would not notice it as - even at close quarters - it would be toofaint for the human eye to see.

This helps to explain why this large object had to wait until the mid-twentieth century to be discovered - its light is spread very thinly and the red glow cannot be well seen visually.

This new portrait of Gum 41 - likely one of the best so far of this elusive object - has been created using data from the Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is a combination of images taken through blue, green, and red filters, along with an image using a special filter designed to pick out the red glow from hydrogen.

.


Related Links
ESO
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It






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




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Pushy neighbors force stellar twins to diverge
Ithaca NY (SPX) Apr 16, 2014
Much like an environment influences people, so too do cosmic communities affect even giant dazzling stars: Peering deep into the Milky Way galaxy's center from a high-flying observatory, Cornell astronomers have discovered identical, rare stars whose diverging dusty and gaseous garb are strictly influenced by an intrusive cluster of neighbors. Scarce, short-lived, hyperbright stars called ... read more


STELLAR CHEMISTRY
NASA Completes LADEE Mission with Planned Impact on Moon's Surface

Russia plans to get a foothold in the Moon

Russian Federal Space Agency is elaborating Moon exploration program

Science, Discovery Channels to broadcast private race to the moon

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
The Path to Mars

Meteorite studies suggest hidden water on Mars

Getting in Place for a Better View of Endeavour Crater

Mars' halcyon times may have been fleeting

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
NASA's Orion Spacecraft Powers through First Integrated System Testing

Astronauts to grow lettuce on International Space Station

NASA Astronauts Will Breathe Easier With New Oxygen Recovery Systems

Veggie Will Expand Fresh Food Production on ISS

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
China launches experimental satellite

Tiangong's New Mission

"Space Odyssey": China's aspiration in future space exploration

China to launch first "space shuttle bus" this year

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Dragon Cargo Craft Launch Scrubbed; Station Crew Preps for Spacewalk

Backup ISS computer breaks down, requiring possible spacewalk

No politics in space: ISS example of what Russia, US can achieve working together

Sakura tree grown in space blooms in Japan

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
SpaceX Cargo Mission Launches to Space Station

SpaceX supply capsule berths at ISS

NASA Signs Agreement with SpaceX for Use of Historic Launch Pad

Russian Rockets used by the US

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
First Earth-sized planet found in 'habitable zone': NASA

Continents May Be A Key Feature of Super-Earths

Chance meeting creates celestial diamond ring

Faraway Moon or Faint Star? Possible Exomoon Found

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
New Self-healing Plastics Developed

Satellite telecom vulnerable to hackers: researchers

New technique takes cues from astronomy and ophthalmology to sharpen microscope images

Cork trees offer greener source of polyester




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news 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 All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.