Andrew Yee
January 6th 06, 12:58 AM
Gemini Observatory
Hilo, Hawaii
Contact:
Peter Michaud, Gemini Observatory
Desk: 808/974-2510
Gemini Legacy Image Release: Wednesday, 04 January 2006
Gemini Looks Down the Mouth of an Interstellar Cavern
<http://www.gemini.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=171&Itemid=42>
A storm of billowing clouds blown by the winds from massive
stars, and set aglow by their light, is the focus of a
striking image released today by Gemini Observatory.
Known as the N44 superbubble complex, this cloudy tempest
is dominated by a vast bubble about 325 by 250 light-years
across. A cluster of massive stars inside the cavern has
cleared away gas to form a distinctive mouth-shaped hollow
shell. While astronomers do not agree on exactly how this
bubble has evolved for up to the past 10 million years,
they do know that the central cluster of massive stars is
responsible for the cloud's unusual appearance. It is likely
that the explosive death of one or more of the cluster¹s
most massive and short-lived stars played a key role in
the formation of the large bubble.
"This region is like a giant laboratory providing us with
a glimpse into many unique phenomena," said Sally Oey of
the University of Michigan, who has studied this object
extensively. "Observations from space have even revealed
x-ray-emitting gas escaping from this superbubble, and while
this is expected, this is the only object of its kind where
we have actually seen it happening."
One of the mysteries surrounding this object points to the
role that supernova explosions (marking the destruction of
the most massive of the central cluster's stars) could have
played in sculpting the cloud. Philip Massey of Lowell
Observatory, who studied this region along with Oey, adds
"When we look at the speed of the gases in this cloud we find
inconsistencies in the size of the bubble and the expected
velocities of the winds from the central cluster of massive
stars. Supernovae, the ages of the central stars, or the
orientation and shape of the cloud might explain this, but
the bottom line is that there¹s still lots of exciting
science to be done here and these new images will undoubtedly
help."
The Gemini data used to produce this image are being released
to the astronomical community for further research and
follow-up analysis. Note to astronomers: Data can be found at
the Gemini Science Archive by querying "NGC 1929". The image
provides one of the most detailed views ever obtained of this
relatively large region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a
satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, located some 150,000
light-years away and visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
The images captured light of specific colors that reveal the
compression of material and the presence of gases (primarily
excited hydrogen gas and lesser amounts of oxygen and "shocked"
sulfur) in the cloud.
Multiple smaller bubbles appear in the image as bulbous growths
clinging to the central superbubble. Most of these regions were
probably formed as part of the same process that shaped the
central cluster. Their formation could also have been "sparked"
by compression as the central stars pushed the surrounding gas
outward. Our view into this cavern could really be like looking
through an elongated tube, which lends the object its monstrous
mouth-like appearance.
The images used to produce the color composite were obtained
with the Gemini Multi-object Spectrograph (GMOS) at the Gemini
South Telescope on Cerro Pachón in Chile. The color image was
produced by Travis Rector of the University of Alaska Anchorage
and combines three single-color images to produce the image.
Technical details on image can be found below:
Filter* Color FWHM Exposure Time
H-alpha Violet 0.64" 4x180s
[OIII] Cyan 0.70" 4x180s
[SII] Orange 0.65" 4x180s
Field of View: 9.8' x 5.5'
Orientation: Rotated 51 Degrees East of North
Observation Date (UT): November 9, 2005
Gemini is an international partnership managed by the Association
of Universities for Research in Astronomy under a cooperative
agreement with the National Science Foundation.
The Gemini Observatory provides the astronomical communities
in each partner country with state-of-the-art astronomical
facilities that allocate observing time in proportion to each
country's contribution. In addition to financial support, each
country also contributes significant scientific and technical
resources. The national research agencies that form the Gemini
partnership include: the US National Science Foundation (NSF),
the UK Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC),
the Canadian National Research Council (NRC), the Chilean
Comisión Nacional de Investigación Cientifica y Tecnológica
(CONICYT), the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Argentinean
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
(CONICET) and the Brazilian Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento
Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). The Observatory is managed by
the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.
(AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the NSF. The NSF also
serves as the executive agency for the international partnership.
Hilo, Hawaii
Contact:
Peter Michaud, Gemini Observatory
Desk: 808/974-2510
Gemini Legacy Image Release: Wednesday, 04 January 2006
Gemini Looks Down the Mouth of an Interstellar Cavern
<http://www.gemini.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=171&Itemid=42>
A storm of billowing clouds blown by the winds from massive
stars, and set aglow by their light, is the focus of a
striking image released today by Gemini Observatory.
Known as the N44 superbubble complex, this cloudy tempest
is dominated by a vast bubble about 325 by 250 light-years
across. A cluster of massive stars inside the cavern has
cleared away gas to form a distinctive mouth-shaped hollow
shell. While astronomers do not agree on exactly how this
bubble has evolved for up to the past 10 million years,
they do know that the central cluster of massive stars is
responsible for the cloud's unusual appearance. It is likely
that the explosive death of one or more of the cluster¹s
most massive and short-lived stars played a key role in
the formation of the large bubble.
"This region is like a giant laboratory providing us with
a glimpse into many unique phenomena," said Sally Oey of
the University of Michigan, who has studied this object
extensively. "Observations from space have even revealed
x-ray-emitting gas escaping from this superbubble, and while
this is expected, this is the only object of its kind where
we have actually seen it happening."
One of the mysteries surrounding this object points to the
role that supernova explosions (marking the destruction of
the most massive of the central cluster's stars) could have
played in sculpting the cloud. Philip Massey of Lowell
Observatory, who studied this region along with Oey, adds
"When we look at the speed of the gases in this cloud we find
inconsistencies in the size of the bubble and the expected
velocities of the winds from the central cluster of massive
stars. Supernovae, the ages of the central stars, or the
orientation and shape of the cloud might explain this, but
the bottom line is that there¹s still lots of exciting
science to be done here and these new images will undoubtedly
help."
The Gemini data used to produce this image are being released
to the astronomical community for further research and
follow-up analysis. Note to astronomers: Data can be found at
the Gemini Science Archive by querying "NGC 1929". The image
provides one of the most detailed views ever obtained of this
relatively large region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a
satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, located some 150,000
light-years away and visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
The images captured light of specific colors that reveal the
compression of material and the presence of gases (primarily
excited hydrogen gas and lesser amounts of oxygen and "shocked"
sulfur) in the cloud.
Multiple smaller bubbles appear in the image as bulbous growths
clinging to the central superbubble. Most of these regions were
probably formed as part of the same process that shaped the
central cluster. Their formation could also have been "sparked"
by compression as the central stars pushed the surrounding gas
outward. Our view into this cavern could really be like looking
through an elongated tube, which lends the object its monstrous
mouth-like appearance.
The images used to produce the color composite were obtained
with the Gemini Multi-object Spectrograph (GMOS) at the Gemini
South Telescope on Cerro Pachón in Chile. The color image was
produced by Travis Rector of the University of Alaska Anchorage
and combines three single-color images to produce the image.
Technical details on image can be found below:
Filter* Color FWHM Exposure Time
H-alpha Violet 0.64" 4x180s
[OIII] Cyan 0.70" 4x180s
[SII] Orange 0.65" 4x180s
Field of View: 9.8' x 5.5'
Orientation: Rotated 51 Degrees East of North
Observation Date (UT): November 9, 2005
Gemini is an international partnership managed by the Association
of Universities for Research in Astronomy under a cooperative
agreement with the National Science Foundation.
The Gemini Observatory provides the astronomical communities
in each partner country with state-of-the-art astronomical
facilities that allocate observing time in proportion to each
country's contribution. In addition to financial support, each
country also contributes significant scientific and technical
resources. The national research agencies that form the Gemini
partnership include: the US National Science Foundation (NSF),
the UK Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC),
the Canadian National Research Council (NRC), the Chilean
Comisión Nacional de Investigación Cientifica y Tecnológica
(CONICYT), the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Argentinean
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
(CONICET) and the Brazilian Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento
Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). The Observatory is managed by
the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.
(AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the NSF. The NSF also
serves as the executive agency for the international partnership.