ScienceDaily
Your source for the latest research news
Follow Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Subscribe RSS Feeds Newsletters
New:
  • 3D Printing Metal-Plastic Composite Structures
  • 2,000-Year-Old Shipwreck: Complex Trade
  • Mammoth Problem With Extinction Timeline
  • Landslide Risk Remains Long After a Quake
  • Physicists Observe Wormhole Dynamics
  • New Method of Spinal Cord Tissue Repair
  • How Giant-Faced Owls Snag Voles Hidden in Snow
  • 'Unrecyclable' Plastic Can Now Be Recycled
  • Fossil Upends Views On Origin of Modern Birds
  • Mysteriously Bright Flash Pointing Toward Earth
advertisement
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines!
Science News
from research organizations

1

2

Stellar Nursery: Inside the dark heart of the Eagle

Date:
December 18, 2009
Source:
European Space Agency
Summary:
Herschel has peered inside an unseen stellar nursery and revealed surprising amounts of activity. Some 700 newly-forming stars are estimated to be crowded into filaments of dust stretching through the image.
Share:
FULL STORY

Herschel has peered inside an unseen stellar nursery and revealed surprising amounts of activity. Some 700 newly-forming stars are estimated to be crowded into filaments of dust stretching through the image. The image is the first new release of 'OSHI', ESA's Online Showcase of Herschel Images.

advertisement

This image shows a dark cloud 1000 light-years away in the constellation Aquila, the Eagle. It covers an area 65 light-years across and is so shrouded in dust that no previous infrared satellite has been able to see into it. Now, thanks to Herschel's superior sensitivity at the longest wavelengths of the infrared, astronomers have their first picture of the interior of this cloud.

It was taken on 24 October using two of Herschel's instruments: the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE). The two bright regions are areas where large newborn stars are causing hydrogen gas to shine.

The new OSHI website will become a library of Herschel's best images. Stunning views of the infrared sky will be made available as the mission progresses. Each will be captioned in a way to make them accessible to media representatives, educators and the public.

Embedded within the dusty filaments in the Aquila image are 700 condensations of dust and gas that will eventually become stars. Astronomers estimate that about 100 are protostars, celestial objects in the final stages of formation. Each one just needs to ignite nuclear fusion in its core to become a true star. The other 600 objects are insufficiently developed to be considered protostars, but these too will eventually become another generation of stars.

This cloud is part of Gould's Belt, a giant ring of stars that circles the night sky -- the Solar System just happens to lie near the centre of the belt. The first to notice this unexpected alignment, in the mid-19th century, was England's John Herschel, the son of William, after whom ESA's Herschel telescope is named. But it was Boston-born Benjamin Gould who brought the ring to wider attention in 1874.

Gould's Belt supplies bright stars to many constellations such as Orion, Scorpius and Crux, and conveniently provides nearby star-forming locations for astronomers to study. Observing these stellar nurseries is a key programme for Herschel, which aims to uncover the demographics of star formation and its origin, or in other words, the quantities of stars that can form and the range of masses that such newborn stars can possess. Apart from this region of Aquila, Herschel will target 14 other star-forming regions as part of the Gould's Belt Key Programme.

make a difference: sponsored opportunity

Story Source:

Materials provided by European Space Agency. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
European Space Agency. "Stellar Nursery: Inside the dark heart of the Eagle." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 December 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091216103607.htm>.
European Space Agency. (2009, December 18). Stellar Nursery: Inside the dark heart of the Eagle. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 1, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091216103607.htm
European Space Agency. "Stellar Nursery: Inside the dark heart of the Eagle." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091216103607.htm (accessed December 1, 2022).

  • RELATED TOPICS
    • Space & Time
      • Stars
      • Nebulae
      • Astrophysics
      • Galaxies
      • Solar System
      • Solar Flare
      • Astronomy
      • Extrasolar Planets
advertisement

  • RELATED TERMS
    • Interstellar medium
    • Uranus' natural satellites
    • Astronomy
    • Hubble Deep Field
    • Spitzer space telescope
    • Stellar classification
    • Open cluster
    • Solar wind
advertisement

  Print   Email   Share

advertisement

1

2

3

4

5
Most Popular
this week

SPACE & TIME
Astronomers Discover Closest Black Hole to Earth
An Exoplanet Atmosphere as Never Seen Before
Astronomers Observe Intra-Group Light -- The Elusive Glow Between Distant Galaxies
MATTER & ENERGY
New Catalyst Could Be Key for Hydrogen Economy
Wireless Earphones as Inexpensive Hearing Aids
Artificial Neural Networks Learn Better When They Spend Time Not Learning at All
COMPUTERS & MATH
A Simpler Path to Better Computer Vision
AI Tailors Artificial DNA for Future Drug Development
'Butterfly Bot' Is Fastest Swimming Soft Robot Yet
advertisement

Strange & Offbeat
 

SPACE & TIME
Physicists Observe Wormhole Dynamics Using a Quantum Computer
Rare Sighting of Luminous Jet Spewed by Supermassive Black Hole
Mysteriously Bright Flash Is a Black Hole Jet Pointing Straight Toward Earth, Astronomers Say
MATTER & ENERGY
Physicists Observe Wormhole Dynamics Using a Quantum Computer
Organizing Nanoparticles Into Pinwheel Shapes Offers New Twist on Engineered Materials
The Entanglement Advantage
COMPUTERS & MATH
Physicists Observe Wormhole Dynamics Using a Quantum Computer
New Quantum Computing Feat Is a Modern Twist on a 150-Year-Old Thought Experiment
Artificial Neural Networks Learn Better When They Spend Time Not Learning at All
Explore More
from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES

Astronomers Find Elusive Target Hiding Behind Dust
June 8, 2020 — Some young, still-forming stars are surrounded by regions of complex organic molecules called 'hot corinos.' In some pairs of young stars forming together as binary pairs, astronomers found a hot ...
Vast Stellar Nursery of Lagoon Nebula
Apr. 19, 2018 — This colorful cloud of glowing interstellar gas is just a tiny part of the Lagoon Nebula, a vast stellar nursery. This nebula is a region full of intense activity, with fierce winds from hot stars, ...
Cosmic Dust Snakes and Starbirth in Lupus 3
Jan. 31, 2018 — A dark cloud of cosmic dust snakes across this spectacular wide field image, illuminated by the brilliant light of new stars. This dense cloud is a star-forming region called Lupus 3, where ...
Stellar Nursery Blooms Into View
Dec. 13, 2017 — The OmegaCAM camera on ESO's VLT Survey Telescope has captured this glittering view of the stellar nursery called Sharpless 29. Many astronomical phenomena can be seen in this giant image, including ...
advertisement


SD
  • SD
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Home
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Health
    • View all the latest top news in the health sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Health & Medicine
      • Allergy
      • Alternative Medicine
      • Birth Control
      • Cancer
      • Diabetes
      • Diseases
      • Heart Disease
      • HIV and AIDS
      • Obesity
      • Stem Cells
      • ... more topics
      Mind & Brain
      • ADD and ADHD
      • Addiction
      • Alzheimer's
      • Autism
      • Depression
      • Headaches
      • Intelligence
      • Psychology
      • Relationships
      • Schizophrenia
      • ... more topics
      Living Well
      • Parenting
      • Pregnancy
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Care
      • Men's Health
      • Women's Health
      • Nutrition
      • Diet and Weight Loss
      • Fitness
      • Healthy Aging
      • ... more topics
  • Tech
    • View all the latest top news in the physical sciences & technology,
      or browse the topics below:
      Matter & Energy
      • Aviation
      • Chemistry
      • Electronics
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Nanotechnology
      • Physics
      • Quantum Physics
      • Solar Energy
      • Technology
      • Wind Energy
      • ... more topics
      Space & Time
      • Astronomy
      • Black Holes
      • Dark Matter
      • Extrasolar Planets
      • Mars
      • Moon
      • Solar System
      • Space Telescopes
      • Stars
      • Sun
      • ... more topics
      Computers & Math
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Communications
      • Computer Science
      • Hacking
      • Mathematics
      • Quantum Computers
      • Robotics
      • Software
      • Video Games
      • Virtual Reality
      • ... more topics
  • Enviro
    • View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Plants & Animals
      • Agriculture and Food
      • Animals
      • Biology
      • Biotechnology
      • Endangered Animals
      • Extinction
      • Genetically Modified
      • Microbes and More
      • New Species
      • Zoology
      • ... more topics
      Earth & Climate
      • Climate
      • Earthquakes
      • Environment
      • Geography
      • Geology
      • Global Warming
      • Hurricanes
      • Ozone Holes
      • Pollution
      • Weather
      • ... more topics
      Fossils & Ruins
      • Ancient Civilizations
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Early Humans
      • Early Mammals
      • Evolution
      • Lost Treasures
      • Origin of Life
      • Paleontology
      • ... more topics
  • Society
    • View all the latest top news in the social sciences & education,
      or browse the topics below:
      Science & Society
      • Arts & Culture
      • Consumerism
      • Economics
      • Political Science
      • Privacy Issues
      • Public Health
      • Racial Disparity
      • Religion
      • Sports
      • World Development
      • ... more topics
      Business & Industry
      • Biotechnology & Bioengineering
      • Computers & Internet
      • Energy & Resources
      • Engineering
      • Medical Technology
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Transportation
      • ... more topics
      Education & Learning
      • Animal Learning & Intelligence
      • Creativity
      • Educational Psychology
      • Educational Technology
      • Infant & Preschool Learning
      • Learning Disorders
      • STEM Education
      • ... more topics
  • Quirky
    • Top News
    • Human Quirks
    • Odd Creatures
    • Bizarre Things
    • Weird World
Free Subscriptions

Get the latest science news with ScienceDaily's free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

  • Email Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
Follow Us

Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Have Feedback?

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

  • Leave Feedback
  • Contact Us
About This Site  |  Staff  |  Reviews  |  Contribute  |  Advertise  |  Privacy Policy  |  Editorial Policy  |  Terms of Use
Copyright 1995-2022 ScienceDaily or by other parties, where indicated. All rights controlled by their respective owners.
Content on this website is for information only. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice.
Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners.
Financial support for ScienceDaily comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated.
— CCPA: Do Not Sell My Information — GDPR: Privacy Settings —