                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2022 September 16

                             The Tarantula Zone
       Image Credit & Copyright: Processing - Robert Gendler, Roberto
                                  Colombari
   Data - Hubble Tarantula Treasury, European Southern Observatory, James
                    Webb Space Telescope, Amateur Sources

   Explanation: The Tarantula Nebula, also known as 30 Doradus, is more
   than a thousand light-years in diameter, a giant star forming region
   within nearby satellite galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. About 180
   thousand light-years away, it's the largest, most violent star forming
   region known in the whole Local Group of galaxies. The cosmic arachnid
   sprawls across this magnificent view, an assembly of image data from
   large space- and ground-based telescopes. Within the Tarantula (NGC
   2070), intense radiation, stellar winds, and supernova shocks from the
   central young cluster of massive stars cataloged as R136 energize the
   nebular glow and shape the spidery filaments. Around the Tarantula are
   other star forming regions with young star clusters, filaments, and
   blown-out bubble-shaped clouds. In fact, the frame includes the site of
   the closest supernova in modern times, SN 1987A, at lower right. The
   rich field of view spans about 2 degrees or 4 full moons, in the
   southern constellation Dorado. But were the Tarantula Nebula closer,
   say 1,500 light-years distant like the Milky Way's own star forming
   Orion Nebula, it would take up half the sky.

               Tomorrow's picture: pathfinder to perseverance
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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