Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Serpens (Ser)  ·  Contains:  The star 60Ser  ·  The star 61Ser
Sh2-64 (W40 or LBN90), Andrea Storani
Sh2-64 (W40 or LBN90)
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Sh2-64 (W40 or LBN90)

Sh2-64 (W40 or LBN90), Andrea Storani
Sh2-64 (W40 or LBN90)
Powered byPixInsight

Sh2-64 (W40 or LBN90)

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Description

Sh2-64 (W 40 or RCW 174 or LBN90) is a star-forming region in the Milky Way Galaxy in the constellation Serpens Cauda. At a distance of approximately 500 parsecs (1600 ly) this is one of the nearest sites forming O- and B-type stars. However, it is highly obscured by its molecular cloud, and cannot easily be observed in visible wavelengths of light. Ionizing radiation from the massive OB stars have created an H II region which has an hour-glass morphology.

The W40 star-forming region is projected on the sky in the direction of the Serpens-Aquila Rift, a mass of dark clouds above the Galactic plane in the constellations Aquila, Serpens, and eastern Ophiuchus. The high extinction from these foreground clouds means that this region looks unimpressive in the optical, despite being one of the nearest sites of massive star formation.

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  • Sh2-64 (W40 or LBN90), Andrea Storani
    Original
  • Final
    Sh2-64 (W40 or LBN90), Andrea Storani
    D

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Sh2-64 (W40 or LBN90), Andrea Storani