Press Releases 2006

ESO PR Photo 13a/06

Cosmic Spider: The Tarantula Nebula

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Three-colour image of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The image is based on observations made on 10 February 2002 and 22 March 2003 with the FORS1 multi-mode instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope in three different narrow-band filters (centred on 485 nm, 503 nm, and 657 nm), for a total exposure time slightly above 3 minutes only. The data were extracted from the ESO Science Archive and processed by Henri Boffin (ESO).

ESO PR Photo 13b/06

Tarantula's Central Cluster, R136

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Inside the giant emission nebula lies a cluster of young, massive and hot stars, denoted R 136, whose intense ultra-violet radiation and strong winds make the nebula glow, shaping it in the form of a giant arachnid. The cluster is about 2 to 3 million years old. Several of the brighter members in the immediate surroundings of the dense cluster are among the most massive stars known, with masses well above 50 times the mass of our Sun. The cluster itself contains more than 200 massive stars.

ESO PR Photo 13c/06

The Stellar Cluster Hodge 301

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Above and to the right of the central cluster, another cluster of bright, massive stars is seen. Known to astronomers as Hodge 301, it is about 20 million years old, or about 10 times older than R136. The more massive stars of Hodge 301 have therefore already exploded as supernovae, blasting material away at tremendous speed and creating a web of entangled filaments. More explosions will come soon - in astronomical terms - as three red supergiants are indeed present in Hodge 301 that will end their life in the gigantic firework of a supernova within the next million years.

ESO PR Photo 13d/06

Gas Pillars in Tarantula Nebula

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Some structures have the appearance of elephant trunks, not unlike the famous and fertile "Pillars of Creation" at the top of which stars are forming.

ESO PR Photo 13e/06

Red Bubbles in Tarantula Nebula

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The star that blows the material making this reddish bubble is thought to be 20 times more massive, 130 000 times more luminous, 10 times larger and 6 times hotter than our Sun. A possible fainter example of such a bubble is also visible just above the large red bubble in the image.