of Euclid The research team has released a stunning panoramic and detailed image of the Horsehead Nebula.
This image from ESA’s Euclid spacecraft shows the Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33. This is a huge star-forming region located 1,375 light-years away in the constellation Orion. Image credits: ESA / Euclid / Euclid Consortium / NASA / J.-C. Cuillandre, CEA Paris-Saclay / G. Anselmi / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.
The Horsehead Nebula is located in the constellation Orion, about 1,500 light-years from Earth.
Also known as Barnard 33, this nebula is visible only because its indistinct dust is silhouetted against the brighter nebula. IC434.
This is just one small feature of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, with the glowing Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) dominating the center of this view.
The Horsehead Nebula was first recorded by Scottish astronomer Williamna Fleming on February 6, 1888.
The object is formed by a collapsing cloud of interstellar matter and shines in the light of a nearby hot star.
The gas cloud surrounding the horsehead has now disappeared, but the protruding columns are made of stronger material that is less erodible.
Astronomers estimate that the Horsehead Formation has about 5 million years left to collapse.
“The Horsehead Nebula is located just south of this star. alnitak, the easternmost point of Orion’s famous triple star belt and part of the vast Orion molecular cloud. ” euclid astronomer Said.
“Many other telescopes have taken images of the Horsehead Nebula, but none can produce as clear and wide a field of view as Euclid in a single observation.”
“Euclid captured this image of Horsehead in about an hour, demonstrating the mission’s ability to very quickly image unprecedented regions of the sky in high detail.”
With new observations of Euclid, astronomers hope to discover a large number of dark, never-before-seen Jupiter-mass protoplanets, young brown dwarfs, and protostars.
“We are particularly interested in this area because star formation takes place under very specific conditions,” says Eduardo, an astronomer at the Astronomical Institute of Canarias in Tenerife and a Euclid Legacy Scientist. said Dr. Martin Guerrero de Escalante.
“These special conditions are caused by radiation coming from very bright stars. sigma orionisIt is located above the horse’s head and is just outside Euclid’s field of vision. ”
“The ultraviolet radiation from Sigma Orionis makes the clouds behind the horsehead glow, but the thick clouds of the horsehead itself block the light directly behind it, making the head appear dark.”
“The nebula itself is composed primarily of cold hydrogen molecules, emitting little heat or light.”
Sigma Orionis itself belongs to an open cluster. However, astronomers do not have a complete picture of all the stars in this cluster.
“Although Gaia has revealed many new members, new candidate stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary-mass objects are already visible in this Euclidean image. So we hope that Euclidean will give us a more complete picture. We are looking forward to the future,” Dr. de Escalante said.