The Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus): An
active star-forming region 160,000 light years from Earth in the
Large Magellanic Cloud in the constellation Dorado.
Caption: Chandra's image shows the
drama of star formation and evolution as it is being played out
in a nearby galaxy. 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). The
brightest source in this region is Mk 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) show the large
shell-like supernova remnant SNR N157C. In the image, lower
energy X-rays appear red, medium energy green and high-energy
are blue.
Scale: Left panel is 16 arcmin on a
side. Right panel is 8 by 16 arcmin.
Chandra X-ray Observatory ACIS
Image
CXC operated for
NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory
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