Young stars biting the cloud that feeds them

Esahubble_potw1019a_1024

esahubble_potw1019a August 30th, 2010

Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA

A billowing cloud of hydrogen in the Triangulum galaxy (Messier 33), about 2.7 million light-years away from Earth, glows with the energy released by hundreds of young, bright stars. This NASA/ESA Hubble Spare Telescope image provides the sharpest view of NGC 604 so far obtained. Some 1500 light-years across, this is one of the largest, brightest concentrations of ionised hydrogen (H II) in our local group of galaxies, and is a major centre of star formation. The gas in NGC 604, around nine tenths of it hydrogen, is gradually collapsing under the force of gravity to create new stars. Once these stars have formed, the vigorous ultraviolet radiation they emit excites the remaining gas in the cloud, making it glow a distinct shade of red. This colour is typical not only of NGC 604 but of other H II regions too. Although it is part of Messier 33 this object is so bright and prominent that it was given its own NGC number. The fierce ultraviolet radiation released by the stars that give these hydrogen clouds their distinctive glow is also the cause of their uneven appearance and eventual disappearance. The radiation and winds blowing from the surface of these stars gradually erode the cloud they formed from, causing the gases to slowly disperse. The complex structure of NGC 604, with irregular bubbles and wispy filament-like structures alongside denser, redder areas is due to the same forces that will eventually make the cloud disappear. The blister-like cavities show areas of stronger erosion of the cloud. While these areas appear dark in this photograph, they shine brightly at X-ray wavelengths. This image was created from images taken using the High Resolution Channel of Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. It is a composite of images taken through a total of seven different filters spanning a huge range of wavelengths from 220 nm in the ultraviolet all the way up to the near infrared at one micron. The field of view is about 31 by 22 arcseconds.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1019a/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Messier 33 NGC 604
Subject - Local Universe
Nebula > Type > Star Formation
Galaxy > Type > Spiral
Esahubble_potw1019a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 1h 34m 32.8s
DEC = 30° 47’ 1.6”
Orientation
North is 311.7° CCW
Field of View
0.5 x 0.4 arcminutes
Constellation
Triangulum

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (ACS) Optical (R) 658.0 nm
Orange Hubble (ACS) Infrared (I) 815.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 550.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (B) 435.0 nm
Cyan Hubble (ACS) Ultraviolet (U) 330.0 nm
Blue Hubble (ACS) Ultraviolet (UVC) 250.0 nm
Purple Hubble (ACS) Ultraviolet (Hard-UV) 220.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Red
Orange
Green
Green
Cyan
Blue
Purple
Esahubble_potw1019a_1280
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ID
potw1019a
Subject Category
C.4.1.2   C.5.1.1  
Subject Name
Messier 33, NGC 604
Credits
ESA/Hubble and NASA
Release Date
2010-08-30T10:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1019a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS
Color Assignment
Red, Orange, Green, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple
Band
Optical, Infrared, Optical, Optical, Ultraviolet, Ultraviolet, Ultraviolet
Bandpass
R, I, V, B, U, UVC, Hard-UV
Central Wavelength
658, 815, 550, 435, 330, 250, 220
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
23.6368547725, 30.7837800408
Reference Dimension
1254.0, 900.0
Reference Pixel
627.0, 450.0
Scale
-6.9515141352e-06, 6.9515141352e-06
Rotation
311.66000000000008
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
http://www.spacetelescope.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
potw1019a
Metadata Date
2010-08-10T14:39:48+02:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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