N49- One of the most extraordinary events in all of Astronomy is the inevitable violent death of massive stars. What is known as a supernova, this event is the very reason why you and I are alive right now. Because massive stars explode violently, the heavy elements they have fused deep within the star are hurtled through space at incredible speeds. Located 160,000 light years away, within the Large Magellanic Cloud, N49 did just that; explode through a core-collapse supernova. We are able to detect x-rays, seen in blue, as well as view N49 through infrared. The reason we can see this supernova in x-ray is because of the million degree gas located in the center. Infrared is seen in wavelengths that are third longest, only to radio and microwaves. Slightly smaller wavelengths than infrared result in visible light, what you and I see at this very moment. It is also worth noting that something called a magnetar exists in the center of this explosion. It is the solid neutron core of a dead, high-mass star. It is rotating at an unbelievable speed. Try hundreds of times per second!! It emits powerful electromagnetic radiation in the form of x-rays and gamma-rays.
The super star cluster named R136 is located within the Tarantula Nebula and is seen as the numerous blue stars in this image. This cluster contains some of the largest and hottest stars discovered. Some of these stars are over 100 times the size of our own sun, and one of them particularly is 265 times the mass of our sun and is 8,700,000 times brighter. This region of space is located 170,000 light years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
By far the post popular thing I’ve posted, this picture is so amazing that I wanted to try and find something better, so I found this one which shows more of the dust cloud within this nebula. The Seahorse Nebula lies within the Large Magellanic Cloud, 170,000 light years away. The length of the “Seahorse” is approximately 20 light years long, 4 times the distance from our sun to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.
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