Image of the day 03/29/2013

    NGC 2074 - Seahorse of the LMC, Steven Marx

    NGC 2074 - Seahorse of the LMC

    Image of the day 03/29/2013

      NGC 2074 - Seahorse of the LMC, Steven Marx

      NGC 2074 - Seahorse of the LMC

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      Description

      NGC 2074 - Raw fits data obtained from Hubble Legacy Archive.

      The seahorse-shaped dust structure occurs in our neighboring Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), in a star forming region very near the expansive Tarantula Nebula. The energetic nebula is creating a star cluster, NGC 2074, whose center is visible near the neck of the seahorse.

      In this approximately 100-light-year-wide fantasy-like landscape, dark towers of dust rise above a glowing wall of gases on the surface of the molecular cloud. The seahorse-shaped pillar at lower, right is approximately 20 light-years long, roughly four times the distance between our Sun and the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.

      The region is in the LMC, a satellite of our Milky Way galaxy. It is a fascinating laboratory for observing star-formation regions and their evolution. Dwarf galaxies like the LMC are considered to be the primitive building blocks of larger galaxies.

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        NGC 2074 - Seahorse of the LMC, Steven Marx
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        NGC 2074 - Seahorse of the LMC, Steven Marx
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      NGC 2074 - Seahorse of the LMC, Steven Marx