Shown here HST image of Eagle Nebula with part of its associated GMC. Since molecular hydrogen gas can only be observed by radio technique, contour lines are here used to show where the optically invisible hydrogen gas lies. The manner in which GMCs form stars may strongly depend on environment. In Milky Way, stars form slowly, soon disrupt and disperse molecular gas around them, as seen here in Eagle Nebula. In merging galaxies experiencing vast bursts of star formation, the fate of a GMCs may be quite different. As tenuous gas surrounding these clumps of dense molecular gas heast up, GMCs may get crunched and triggered into rapidly forming stars. The process may be so rapid that the new stars do not have time to disrupt the GMCs before nearly all the gas is used up. The result is that GMCs may turn into rich star clusters that evolve into globular clusters.
Credits
Image: NASA, ESA, STScI, and J. Hester and P. Scowen (Arizona State University);Radio contour: Leo Blitz (UCB), image - Jeff Hester & Paul Scowen (ASU)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Eagle Nebula |
| Object Description | Emission Nebula |
| R.A. Position | 18h 18m 48.17s |
| Dec. Position | -13° 48' 26.03" |
| Constellation | Serpens |
| Distance | 6,500 light-years (2,000 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Instrument | HST>WFPC2 |
| Exposure Dates | April 1, 1995 |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
