恒星工厂M17

2024年8月29日

Star Factory Messier 17
Image Credit & Copyright: Gaetan Maxant

Explanation: A nearby star factory known as Messier 17 lies some 5,500 light-years away in the nebula-rich constellation Sagittarius. At that distance, this 1.5 degree wide field-of-view would span about 150 light-years. In the sharp color composite image faint details of the region’s gas and dust clouds are highlighted with narrowband image data against a backdrop of central Milky Way stars. The stellar winds and energetic radiation from hot, massive stars already formed from M17’s stock of cosmic gas and dust have slowly carved away at the remaining interstellar material, producing the nebula’s cavernous appearance and the undulating shapes within. A popular stop on telescopic tours of the cosmos, M17 is also known as the Omega or the Swan Nebula.

Tomorrow’s picture: southern moonscape

恒星工厂M17
影像提供与版权: Gaetan Maxant

说明: 名为M17的恒星工厂，位于星云密布的人马座方向，离我们约有5,500光年远。以这个距离来换算，上面这片张角1.5度的视野，涵盖了宽约150光年的区域。这幅清晰、以银河系中心繁星为背景的组合彩色影像，整合了透过窄波段滤镜拍摄的影像数据，以突显此区域的云气和尘埃之细微结构。M17里，由宇宙云气和尘埃形成的炽热大质量恒星，发出了强烈的恒星风和高能辐射，缓缓侵蚀了残遗的星际物质，造成此星云的空穴状外观和波浪状的云脊。作为望远镜巡天热门景点的M17，亦有奥米茄星云和天鹅星云之称。

明日的图片: southern moonscape