M42: Wisps of the Orion Nebula
影像版權與提供: Jon Christensen
Explanation:
The Great Nebula in Orion, an immense, nearby starbirth region, is probably the most famous of all astronomical nebulas. Here, glowing gas surrounds hot young stars at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud only 1500 light-years away. In the above deep image, faint wisps and sheets of dust and gas are particularly evident. The Great Nebula in Orion can be found with the unaided eye just below and to the left of the easily identifiable belt of three stars in the popular constellation Orion. In addition to housing a bright open cluster of stars known as the Trapezium, the Orion Nebula contains many stellar nurseries. These nurseries contain hydrogen gas, hot young stars, proplyds, and stellar jets spewing material at high speeds. Also known as M42, the Orion Nebula spans about 40 light years and is located in the same spiral arm of our Galaxy as the Sun.
說明:
獵戶座星雲是個鄰近的巨大恆星誕生區，它可能也是所有天文星雲中最著名者。這張影像中圍繞著新恆星的輝光雲氣，位在這團離我們只有1500光年遠的龐大 分子雲團之邊緣。在上面這幅深場影像裡，可清楚看見暗淡的雲氣絲、片縷狀的塵埃和雲氣。獵戶座大星雲位在北天著名獵戶座的腰帶三星之左下方，用肉眼即可看見。除了中心有一個名為四邊形星團的疏散星團之外，獵戶座大星雲還擁有數個恆星誕成區。這些恆星形成區含有氫氣、淚滴狀的繭狀物、熾熱年輕亮星、以及以高速噴出的恆星噴流。獵戶座大星雲又名為M42，大小約有40光年，和我們的太陽位在銀河系的同一條漩渦臂上。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
