File:NASA’s Hubble Sees a Cosmic Caterpillar (9621392263).jpg
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Summary
DescriptionNASA’s Hubble Sees a Cosmic Caterpillar (9621392263).jpg |
This light-year-long knot of interstellar gas and dust resembles a caterpillar on its way to a feast. But the meat of the story is not only what this cosmic caterpillar eats for lunch, but also what's eating it. Harsh winds from extremely bright stars are blasting ultraviolet radiation at this "wanna-be" star and sculpting the gas and dust into its long shape. The culprits are 65 of the hottest, brightest known stars, classified as O-type stars, located 15 light-years away from the knot, towards the right edge of the image. These stars, along with 500 less bright, but still highly luminous B-type stars make up what is called the Cygnus OB2 association. Collectively, the association is thought to have a mass more than 30,000 times that of our sun. The caterpillar-shaped knot, called IRAS 20324+4057, is a protostar in a very early evolutionary stage. It is still in the process of collecting material from an envelope of gas surrounding it. However, that envelope is being eroded by the radiation from Cygnus OB2. Protostars in this region should eventually become young stars with final masses about one to ten times that of our sun, but if the eroding radiation from the nearby bright stars destroys the gas envelope before the protostars finish collecting mass, their final masses may be reduced. Spectroscopic observations of the central star within IRAS 20324+4057 show that it is still collecting material quite heavily from its outer envelope, hoping to bulk up in mass. Only time will tell if the formed star will be a "heavy-weight" or a "light-weight" with respect to its mass. This image of IRAS 20324+4057 is a composite of Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys data taken in green and infrared light in 2006, and ground-based hydrogen data from the Isaac Newton Telescope in 2003. The object lies 4,500 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram |
Date | |
Source | NASA’s Hubble Sees a Cosmic Caterpillar |
Author | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA |
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This image was originally posted to Flickr by NASA Goddard Photo and Video at https://flickr.com/photos/24662369@N07/9621392263. It was reviewed on 17 September 2016 by FlickreviewR and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0. |
17 September 2016
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This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
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Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
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current | 20:58, 17 September 2016 | 2,835 × 1,824 (4.46 MB) | Vanished Account Byeznhpyxeuztibuo | Transferred from Flickr via Flickr2Commons |
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Width | 3,000 px |
Height | 2,400 px |
Bits per component |
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Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Horizontal resolution | 300 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 300 dpi |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS5 Macintosh |
File change date and time | 13:02, 29 August 2013 |
Exif version | 2.2 |
Color space | Uncalibrated |
Date and time of digitizing | 08:49, 21 October 2005 |
Date metadata was last modified | 09:02, 29 August 2013 |
Unique ID of original document | uuid:F5D63E3643C011DA83F9C95696E3E828 |
Copyright status | Copyright status not set |
IIM version | 2 |