NGC 1579: Trifid of the North
影像版權與提供: R. Jay GaBany
Explanation:
Colorful NGC 1579 resembles the better known Trifid Nebula, but lies much farther north in planet Earth's sky, in the heroic constellation Perseus. About 2,100 light-years away and 3 light-years across, NGC 1579 is a captivating study in color. Like the Trifid, NGC 1579 is a dusty star forming region providing contrasting emission and reflection nebulae in the same field - the characteristic red glow of hydrogen gas and the blue of reflected starlight. Also like the Trifid, dark dust lanes are prominent in the nebula's central regions. In fact, obscuring dust is pervasive in NGC 1579, drastically dimming the visible light from the massive, young, hot stars still embedded in the cosmic cloud.
說明:
美麗美麗的NGC 1579之外觀和較著名的三裂星雲 (Trifid Nebula)類似，但座落在地球天空較偏北的英仙座內。離我們約有2,100光年遠的NGC 1579 ，大小約有三光年，是個令人著迷的彩色天體。就像三裂星雲一樣，NGC 1579是個到處都是塵埃的恆星形成區，在同一個影像視野裡同時具有高對比的發射及反射星雲，也就是說擁有會發出特徵紅光輻射的氫氣雲和反射星光所造成的藍色雲氣。另外也和三裂星雲相似，星雲的中心區也有醒目的黝黑塵埃帶。在NGC 1579內塵埃真得無所不在，因此大幅度地削弱了埋在星雲內大質量年輕熱星所發出的可見光。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
