A Galaxy of "Birth and Death": NGC 2403 in Camelopardalis | Mayall Telescope
Captured by the Mosaic camera on the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a Program of the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab, the spiral galaxy NGC 2403, also known as Caldwell 7, highlights the dynamic birth and death of stars. The glowing red spots dotting the galaxy are clouds of ionized hydrogen gas known as HII regions. These areas indicate the birth of young, hot stars that often ionize nearby hydrogen gas during their dynamic formation. Conversely, NGC 2403 has also been the home of the supernova SN 2004dj. The region in NGC 2403 containing the star that became a supernova in 2004 had been observed before, during, and after the explosion, providing a fascinating timeline of the impact of the event.
Since star formation occurs on a timescale much longer than a human lifetime, the process has to be pieced together like a puzzle through observations of stars at distinct stages of the stellar life cycle. It is very satisfying for astronomers to be able to observe supernovae that occur incredibly quickly even by human standards, to confirm and develop theories of the life cycle of stars.
Learn more about the Mayall Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/kpno/telescopes/nicholas-mayall-4m-telescope
Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. T. Patterson (New Mexico State University)
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF NOIRLab)
Release Date: May 25, 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment