Cathédrale cosmique
Jusqu'où peut aller la masse d'une étoile normale ? Des estimations fondées sur la distance, la luminosité et des modèles solaires standard ont donné à une étoile de l'amas ouvert Pismis 24 une masse plus de 200 fois supérieure à celle de notre Soleil, ce qui en aurait fait l'une des étoiles les plus massives connues. Cette étoile est l'objet le plus brillant situé dans la cavité centrale près du centre de cette image prise en lumière infrarouge par le télescope spatial Webb. Cependant, un examen attentif a montré que Pismis 24 tire sa brillante luminosité non pas d'une seule étoile, mais d'au moins trois. Les étoiles qui la composent auraient toujours une masse proche de 100 masses solaires, ce qui les placerait parmi les étoiles les plus massives actuellement répertoriées. Vers le bas de l'image, des étoiles sont encore en formation dans la nébuleuse par émission associée NGC 6357.
L'image d'astronomie du jour (Astronomy Picture Of the Day - APOD)
Traduction réalisée par Didier Jamet
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9 octobre 2008
Etoiles massives dans NGC 6357
Cette nébuleuse, célèbre pour ses étoiles les plus massives connues de notre galaxie , en prépare de nouvelles cachées par ses piliers de poussières et de gaz
24 décembre 2023
NGC 2440, cocon de naine blanche
Tout comme les papillons, les naines blanches, ici NGC 2440, commencent leur vie en rejetant le cocon de gaz qui les enveloppait.
Ailleurs sur le web
Zooming in on NGC 6357
This zoom video sequence starts with a broad view of the Milky Way. We close in on one of the regions of active star formation in the constellation of Scorpi...
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Infrared Waves - NASA Science
What are Infrared Waves? Infrared waves, or infrared light, are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. People encounter Infrared waves every day; the human eye cannot see it, but humans can detect it as heat. A remote control uses light waves just beyond the visible spectrum of light—infrared light waves—to change channels on your TV. This […]
science.nasa.gov
Stars - NASA Science
Astronomers estimate that the universe could contain up to one septillion stars – that’s a one followed by 24 zeros. Our Milky Way alone contains more than 100 billion, including our most well-studied star, the Sun. Stars are giant balls of hot gas – mostly hydrogen, with some helium and small amounts of other elements. […]
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Sun - NASA Science
Overview The Sun’s gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything – from the biggest planets to the smallest particles of debris – in its orbit. The connection and interactions between the Sun and Earth drive the seasons, ocean currents, weather, climate, radiation belts and auroras. Though it is special to us, there are billions […]
science.nasa.gov
Visible Light - NASA Science
What is the visible light spectrum? The visible light spectrum is the segment of the electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can view. More simply, this range of wavelengths is called visible light. Typically, the human eye can detect wavelengths from 380 to 700 nanometers. WAVELENGTHS OF VISIBLE LIGHT All electromagnetic radiation is light, but […]
science.nasa.gov
Star on a Hubble diet
High-resolution observations from Hubble have shed light on the real mass of a star previously believed to be amongst the heaviest known in our Milky Way. Originally, the mass of the star was thought to be an incredible 200-300 solar masses, but turned out to be only 100 solar masses.
www.spacetelescope.org
A possible far-ultraviolet flux-dependent core mass function in NGC 6357
Context. NGC 6357 is a galactic star-forming complex (d ~ 1.7 kpc) composed of several HII regions, a few young stellar clusters, and giant molecular clouds. In particular, the HII regions G353.2+0.9, G353.1+0.6, and G353.2+0.7 are associated with three young clusters; the most prominent of these, Pismis 24, contains some of the most massive stars known. <BR /> Aims: We aim to derive the pro [...]
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu
Pismis 24-1: The Stellar Upper Mass Limit Preserved
Is there a stellar upper mass limit? Recent statistical work seems to indicate that there is and that it is in the vicinity of 150 M<SUB>solar</SUB>. In this paper we use HST and ground-based data to investigate the brightest members of the cluster Pismis 24, one of which (Pismis 24-1) was previously inferred to have a mass greater than 200 M<SUB>solar</SUB>, in apparent di [...]
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu
Glittering glimpse of starbirth
This sparkling scene of star birth was captured by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. What appears to be a craggy, starlit mountaintop kissed by wispy clouds is actually a cosmic dust-scape being eaten away by the blistering winds and radiation of nearby, massive, infant stars.
esawebb.org
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