Only a faint outline of the pillar remains. In the image at bottom, taken in infrared light, the dense column and the surrounding greenish-colored gas all but disappear. The jet's total length is more than 15 light-years. Astronomers estimate that the jet is moving at speeds of up to 850,000 miles an hour. A few small clouds are visible at a similar distance on the right side of the jet. Farther away, on the left, the jet is visible as a grouping of small, wispy clouds. The matter is part of a jet produced by a young star. Thin puffs of material can be seen traveling to the left and to the right of a dark notch in the center of the pillar. Although the stars themselves are invisible, one of them is providing evidence of its existence. They cannot be seen in this image because they are hidden by a wall of gas and dust. Nestled inside this dense structure are fledgling stars. Streamers of gas and dust can be seen flowing off the top of the structure.
Scorching radiation and fast winds (streams of charged particles) from these stars are sculpting the pillar and causing new stars to form within it. The top image, taken in visible light, shows the top of the 3-light-year-long pillar, bathed in the glow of light from hot, massive stars off the top of the image. The pair of images shows that astronomers are given a much more complete view of the pillar and its contents when distinct details not seen at visible wavelengths are uncovered in near-infrared light.
The pictures demonstrate one example of the broad wavelength range of the new Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) aboard the Hubble telescope, extending from ultraviolet to visible to infrared light.Ĭomposed of gas and dust, the pillar resides in a tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula, located 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. These two images of a huge pillar of star birth demonstrate how observations taken in visible and in infrared light by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveal dramatically different and complementary views of an object. Stars Bursting to Life in Chaotic Carina Nebula
0 kommentar(er)
