The ‘cradle of stars’ in the Small Magellanic Cloud, which sparkles brilliantly looking at images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope | sorae Portal Site to Space

This is about 200,000 light-years away in the direction of the southern sky “Kyosisho” (giant beak).Radiant Nebula “NGC 248”he is. The emission nebula is the region where hydrogen gas is ionized by ultraviolet radiation from a small, hot, massive star that emits red light.HI . areaAlso called the formation of stars from gas and dust in the region HIIstar formation fieldHowever, because it is the site where new stars are born“cradle of stars”It is also called.

NGC 248 is one of the companion galaxies (subordinate galaxies) of the Milky Way.Small Magellanic Cloud(also known as the Small Magellanic Galaxy) and British astronomerJohn HerschelIt was discovered in 1834 by the American Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which released the image, NGC 248.It is about 60 light-years long and about 20 light-years wide.. Although they are actually two nebulae, they are positioned so that they appear to be one from the earth.

[▲ تكبير سديم الانبعاث “NGC 248” (فيلم)]
（Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble, A. Fujii and Digitized Sky Survey 2; Music: Johan B Monel）

this picture「SMAGE」As part of a monitoring project called (Investigating Small Magellanic Clouds for Dust and Gas Evolution),“Hubble”Taken with a space telescope. Astronomer at the University of California, San DiegoKaren SandstromLed by the SMIDGE survey, it was conducted to understand the differences in dust in galaxies with much lower supplies of heavy dust-producing elements (here, the elements are heavier than hydrogen and helium). Since the early universe was much less massive than it is today, observing galaxies like the Small Magellanic Cloud, devoid of heavy elements, will help us better understand dust in the early universe. “It’s also important for understanding the history of the Milky Way,” says Sandstrom.

The image above is from the Hubble Space Telescope.“Advanced Comet-Catching Monitor (ACS)”Created based on images (using four types of filters) obtained using the official NASA Hubble Space Telescope Twitter account on December 20, 2016. Filed again on August 9, 2022.

Connection:Crimson cradle nourishes young stars. “RCW 120” emission nebula in the movie “Scorpio”

source

• Image credits: NASA, ESA, STScI, K. Sandstrom (University of California, San Diego), and the SMIDGE team.
• STSCI – Festive nebulae light up the Milky Way’s moon
• European Space Agency / Hubble – Festive nebulae light up the Milky Way’s moon
• Tweet embed (Twitter)

Text / Matsumura Takehiro