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The molecular cloud Lupus 3 and the reflection nebula GN
16.05.2 |
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Short description:
The molecular cloud Lupus 3 in the
constellation Wolf hosts GN 16.05.2, a large but
very faint reflection nebula. The two Herbig Haro stars HR 5999 and HR 6000 in the centre of the nebula were
formed in the molecular cloud and illuminate the dust around them with their
blue light. They are the centre of a cluster of relatively low-mass newly
formed stars that are still hidden inside the cloud in visible light.
HR5999/6000 are probably younger than 1 million years.
The Lupus 3
molecular cloud belongs to the Scorpius-Centaurus OB
association and has a distance of about 600 light years from our solar
system. The dense (dark) part of the molecular cloud has a length of about 15
light years. The region of Lupus 3, labelled Sandquist 14 in our annotated
image version, contains dust of about 100 solar masses.
The denser regions of such dark clouds contract by
their own gravity and heat up in the process. Since visible light in early
phases of the collapse is still obscured by the dust of the molecular cloud,
these early phases of star formation can only be observed in the infrared
spectral range. |
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As
the young stars become hotter, their intense radiation begins to disintegrate
the cloud around them and the stars are also visible in the visual spectral
range. It is certain that our Sun was formed in a similar molecular cloud more
than 4.5 billion years ago.
In the lower right corner,
GN 16.01.6 is another small reflection nebula.
Further Informationen:
A short description of ESO's Lupus 3 can be
found here. A comprehensive scientific publication of the
ESO "The Lupus Clouds" is available for download as a pdf-file
here.
« Click here or on the thumbnail to load a large image with
object names and size comparison to the moon. |
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All Images und all Content are ©
by Franz Hofmann + Wolfgang Paech |