NGC 604 Nebula core in Triangulum Galaxy - Hubble, Rudy Pohl

NGC 604 Nebula core in Triangulum Galaxy - Hubble

NGC 604 Nebula core in Triangulum Galaxy - Hubble, Rudy Pohl

NGC 604 Nebula core in Triangulum Galaxy - Hubble

Equipment

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Acquisition details

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Description

Data acquisition: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA

Data processing: Rudy Pohl

RGB image

Processing software: Fits Liberator, Photoshop CS5

Data acquisition: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA

Data processing: Rudy Pohl

RGB image

Processing software: ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator 3, Photoshop CS5

This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the central core region of NGC 604, the largest hydrogen alpha-rich nebula in the Triangulum Galaxy. This nebula is located on one of the galaxy's spiral arms and is so large that is it clearly visible as a bright red nodule on all good quality images of the Triangulum galaxy done by amateur astrophotgraphers. Though such nebulae are common in galaxies, this one is particularly large, nearly 1,500 light-years across.

NGC 604 is one of the largest known star formation regions in any nearby galaxy. This nebula is similar to familiar star-birth regions in our Milky Way galaxy, such as the Orion Nebula, but is vastly larger and contains many more recently formed stars.

This monstrous region contains more than 200 brilliant blue stars within a cloud of glowing gases some 1,300 light-years across, nearly 100 times the size of the Orion Nebula. By contrast, the Orion Nebula contains just four bright central stars. The bright stars in NGC 604 are extremely young by astronomical standards, having formed a mere 3 million years ago. It is over 6,300 times more luminous than the Orion Nebula, and if it were at the same distance it would outshine Venus.

Most of the brightest and hottest stars form a loose cluster located within a cavity near the center of the nebula. Stellar winds from these hot blue stars, along with supernova explosions, are responsible for carving out the hole at the center. The most massive stars in NGC 604 exceed 120 times the mass of our Sun, and their surface temperatures are as hot as 72,000 degrees Fahrenheit (40,000 Kelvin). Information by NSA.

CREDITS:

NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI);

Acknowledgment: D. Garnett (U. Arizona), J. Hester (ASU), and J. Westphal (Caltech)

Comments

Revisions

  • NGC 604 Nebula core in Triangulum Galaxy - Hubble, Rudy Pohl
    Original
  • NGC 604 Nebula core in Triangulum Galaxy - Hubble, Rudy Pohl
    C
  • Final
    NGC 604 Nebula core in Triangulum Galaxy - Hubble, Rudy Pohl
    D

Histogram

NGC 604 Nebula core in Triangulum Galaxy - Hubble, Rudy Pohl