船底座的恒星与尘埃之战
2023年12月6日
Stars Versus Dust in the Carina Nebula
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA); Processing: Franco Meconi (Terraza al Cosmos)
Explanation: It’s stars versus dust in the Carina Nebula and the stars are winning. More precisely, the energetic light and winds from massive newly formed stars are evaporating and dispersing the dusty stellar nurseries in which they formed. Located in the Carina Nebula and inside a region known informally as Mystic Mountain, these pillars’ appearance is dominated by opaque brown dust even though it is composed mostly of clear hydrogen gas. Even though some of the dust pillars look like torches, their ends are not on fire — rather, they are illuminated by nearby stars. About 7,500 light-years distant, the featured image was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and highlights an interior region of Carina known as HH1066 which spans nearly a light year. Within a few million years, the stars will likely win out completely and the dust torches will completely evaporate.
Tomorrow’s picture: Orion and the Ocean of Storms
船底座的恒星与尘埃之战
影像提供: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA); 影像处理: Franco Meconi (Terraza al Cosmos)
说明: 船底座星云里，在恒星与尘埃的战争中，恒星占了上风。更精确地说，是刚诞生的大质量恒星之高能星光和恒星风，逐渐把孕育它们的尘埃恒星育婴室蒸发及吹散掉。这些位在船底座星云内、昵称为神秘山的尘埃柱，绝大部分的成分是透明的氢气，但其外观却是受到不透光棕色尘埃的主宰。虽然其中的部分尘埃柱形似火把，但它们的顶端并没着火，只是受到邻近恒星的照耀。这幅由哈勃太空望远镜所拍摄的主题影像，突显了约7,500光年远的船底座星云内，即HH1066，约1光年的区域。在数百万年之内，恒星很可能会完全胜出，而这些尘埃火把将会蒸发迨尽。