Hubble snaps Jewel Box photo

Posted on Sunday, October 07 2007 @ 8:54 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
The Hubble Space Telescope made a pretty sharp image of the NGC 3603 nebula which includes some of the Milky Way's biggest stars:
Inside the NGC 3603 nebula, the stars run the gamut in age and mass—allowing scientists to analyze stars in different stages of their life cycles.

Released today, the new image suggests NGC 3603, which is about 20,000 light-years away, gathers its biggest stars at its core. It also shows that the nebula's dense distribution of stars mirrors other young clusters in the Milky Way, Jesús Maíz Apellániz, leader of the Hubble investigation, said in a statement.

The brightest stars in the image appear blue. Ultraviolet radiation and violent winds from these stars have created a large cavity in the reddish debris enveloping the cluster.

The nebula, discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1834, contains about 400,000 solar masses of gas.
Source: National Geographic


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Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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