W5: 灵魂星云

2023年3月14日

W5: The Soul Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: José Jiménez (Astromet)

Explanation: Stars are forming in the Soul of the Queen of Aethopia. More specifically, a large star forming region called the Soul Nebula can be found in the direction of the constellation Cassiopeia, whom Greek mythology credits as the vain wife of a King who long ago ruled lands surrounding the upper Nile river. Also known as Westerhout 5 (W5), the Soul Nebula houses several open clusters of stars, ridges and pillars darkened by cosmic dust, and huge evacuated bubbles formed by the winds of young massive stars. Located about 6,500 light years away, the Soul Nebula spans about 100 light years and is usually imaged next to its celestial neighbor the Heart Nebula (IC 1805). The featured image is a composite of exposures made in different colors: red as emitted by hydrogen gas, yellow as emitted by sulfur, and blue as emitted by oxygen.

Tomorrow’s picture: planets converge

W5: 灵魂星云
图像提供与版权: José Jiménez (Astromet)

说明: 恒星正形成于埃塞俄比亚王后的灵魂之中。更具体来说，在仙后座（Cassiopeia卡西欧佩亚）方向有个名为灵魂星云的大恒星形成区，而希腊神话认为“卡西欧佩亚”，是很久以前统治上尼罗河地区的国王之虚荣妻子。灵魂星云亦称为Westerhout 5（W5），内有数个疏散星团、因尘埃而变得很黝黑的宇宙云脊和云柱、及由年轻大质量恒星之恒星风吹出的多个庞大气泡。位在6500光年远处的灵魂星云，直径约有100光年，经常与邻近的心脏星云（IC 1805）合影。这张主题图像组合自摄于三个不同波段的照片，其中包括氢气发出的红光、硫的黄光、及氧的蓝光。（Queen of Aethopia埃塞俄比亚女王）

明日的图片: open space