Exploring the Enigmatic ‘Smiling Cat’ Nebula: Sh2-284 Revealed

2023-07-03 12:25:32
This is the emission nebula “Sh2-284 (Sharpless 284)” regarding 15,000 light-years away in the direction of Monoceros. The horizontal range of the image corresponds to regarding 1.5 times the apparent diameter of the full moon (field of view is 45.0 x 45.0 arcmin). According to the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the bright part of the image stretches out over 150 light-years in diameter.[▲ Nebula “Sh2-284” photographed by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) (Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgment: CASU)]Sh2-284 is hydrogen gas ionized by ultraviolet rays emitted from young massive stars. It is also the HII area that emits light. Since hydrogen gas emits red light, Sh2-284 appears as a reddish nebula. The HII region is also a star-forming region where stars are formed from gas and dust. Young star radiation and stellar winds that ionize hydrogen gas also push nebula gas and dust away. According to ESO, there is an open cluster called “Dolidze 25” in the center of Sh2-284, which is eroding the nebula and forming a cavity. Around it, a high-density part that is difficult to erode remains like a “pillar”, pointing to the location of the eroding star cluster.[▲ Nebula “Sh2-284” photographed by the VLT Survey Telescope (VST). The direction in which the stellar winds emitted from the stars in the cluster spread (arrows) and the high-density areas that are resistant to erosion (dotted lines) are shown. (Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgment: CASU)】ESO is Sh2 -284 is described as the ‘Smiling cat’ nebula’. Come to think of it, doesn’t it look like the dark cracks that run from left to right in the center represent the cat’s whisker pads? The image of Sh2-284 published in this article was taken with the wide-angle camera “OmegaCAM” installed on the “VLT Survey Telescope (VST)” at the Paranal Observatory (Chile) operated by ESO (5 types of optical filters were used). ) and published by ESO on June 27, 2023. SourceImage Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgment: CASUESO – ‘Smiling cat’ nebula captured in new ESO image/sorae editorial department
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#Young #stars #smile #cat #Emission #Nebula #Sh2284 #Monoceros #sorae #Space #portal #site

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