The Tarantula Nebula

[zavvy]

<b>The Tarantula Nebula</b><br /><br />click for esa pics<br /><br />The Tarantula Nebula is one of the most impressive views in the Southern sky. Visible to the unaided eye in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way that is located in the direction of the southern constellation Doradus at a distance of about 170,000 light-years, this huge nebula is the prototype of what astronomers refer to as a "Giant HII region". In this complex of glowing gas and very hot and luminous stars, the gas is mainly composed of protons and electrons, which are kept apart by energetic photons emitted by the stars in this area.<br /><br />

 

[Maddad]

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0308/tarantula_esowfi_big.jpg<br />http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/9910/tarantula_btc_big.jpg<br /><br />Those are APOD pics. I've got another hires view on my computer at home. This next one's huge: 4,511 x 5,079 pixels and 11.4 mb. <br />http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2002/phot-14a-02-hires.jpg

 

[Maddad]

SN1987A was in the Tarantula? Thanks! I didn't know that. I remember what an excitement it was when it appeared.

 

[wisefool]

There is a very impressive similar structure in the Triangulum Galaxy, M33. It has its own NGC number: NGC 604.<br /><br />Here is a web page with info and images: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?NGC+604