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A festive treat from Hubble DR EMILY BALDWIN ASTRONOMY NOW Posted: December 15, 2009 
In time for the festive season, Hubble scientists have revealed a new image complete with a Christmas tree silhouette carved into a nebula awash with brilliant blue stars and warm glowing clouds.  In this image of 30 Doradus, blue light is from the hottest most massive stars, green from the glow of oxygen and red from fluorescing hydrogen. NASA, ESA, F. Paresce (INAF-IASF, Bologna, Italy), R. O’Connell (University of Virginia, Charlottesville), and the Wide Field Camera 3 Science Oversight Committee.
The stellar grouping, R136, is just a few million years old and is located in the 30 Doradus Nebula within the turbulent star-forming region of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The icy-blue coloured stars are some of the most massive known, weighing in at over 100 times that of our own Sun. These stars will die in cataclysmic supernova explosions in a few million years time, but at present these brilliant stars are burning deep cavities into the surrounding material with their powerful ultraviolet radiation, producing a turbulent landscape of pillars, ridges and valleys. There is even a festive Christmas tree-shape standing out in the centre of the image as a dark region against the warm, red nebulosity of glowing hydrogen gas. The tree appears to be lit up with strands of blue lights and a red star shining at top. As well as dominating the shapes that reside within 30 Doradus, the young stars are also contributing to the formation of future generations of stars. When their energetic winds strike dense walls of gas they create shocks that trigger new waves of star birth. The LMC is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way and its movement around our Galaxy and its interaction with the companion Small Magellanic Cloud could have triggered the formation of the massive star cluster by compressing gas in the LMC, building up enough pressure to provoke star formation. Star birth and galaxy interactions were common in the early Universe, and this cluster provides a rare, nearby example of such activity. The new image was taken in ultraviolet, visible and red light by Hubble's new Wide Field Camera 3 between 20 and 27 October, and spans about 100 light years. |
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The Planets
Hubble Reborn
3D Universe |
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From tiny Mercury to distant Neptune and Pluto, The Planets profiles each of the Solar System's members in depth, featuring the latest imagery from space missions. The tallest mountains, the deepest canyons, the strongest winds, raging atmospheric storms, terrain studded with craters and vast worlds of ice are just some of the sights you'll see on this 100-page tour of the planets. 
Hubble Reborn takes the reader on a journey through the Universe with spectacular full-colour pictures of galaxies, nebulae, planets and stars as seen through Hubble's eyes, along the way telling the dramatic story of the space telescope, including interviews with key scientists and astronauts. 
Witness the most awesome sights of the Universe as they were meant to be seen in this 100-page extravaganza of planets, galaxies and star-scapes, all in 3D!