Henize 206
Encyclopedia
Henize 206[p] is a nebula
in the Large Magellanic Cloud
.
This luminous cloud of gas and dust houses a cluster of newborn stars. Although Henize 206 was first catalogued in the 1950s, it was reported in NASA
press releases in March 2004, for showing several example images generated from the various infrared cameras on the Spitzer Space Telescope
launched in August 2003.
galaxy, nearly 163,000 light-year
s away, called the Large Magellanic Cloud
. The nebula is home to hundreds and possibly thousands of stars, ranging in age from two to 10 million years old.
provide a detailed snapshot of this universal phenomenon of star formation. By imaging Henize 206 in infrared
wavelength
s, Spitzer was able to see through blankets of dust that dominate visible light views. The image was converted into a conventional photo by reassigning visible colors to the infrared data. The resulting false-color image shows embedded young stars as bright white spots, with the surrounding gas and dust in blue, green and red. Also shown, in the nebula image, is a ring of green gas, which indicates the wake of the ancient supernova's explosion.
, exploded, sending intense shockwaves through clouds of cosmic gas and dust. The gas and dust were subsequently compressed into large groups, then gravity further condensed them into massive objects, and stars were born. Eventually, some of the stars are expected to die in a fiery blast, triggering another cycle of stellar birth and death. This recycling of stellar dust and gas appears to occur throughout the Universe. Earth's own Sun is considered to have descended from multiple generations of stars, as evidenced by heavy elements found, in the Solar System
, in concentrations too large for a first-time star.
Detailed observations of a star cluster nebula provide astronomers with a laboratory for understanding the early universe, and stellar birth and death cycles. Unlike larger galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud has a quirk. The gas permeating it contains roughly 20 to 50 percent of the heavier elements, such as iron, possessed by the Sun and gas clouds in the Milky Way. This low-metallicity state approximates the predicted chemical composition of the early Universe, allowing astronomers to compare what stellar life was like billions of years ago, when heavy metal
s were scarce.
Henize 206 was first catalogued in the early 1950s by Dr. Karl Henize, an astronomer who became a NASA astronaut. He flew during the Spacelab-2
mission, aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger
in July/August 1985. He died in 1993, at age 66, while climbing Mount Everest
.
Launched on August 25, 2003, from Cape Canaveral
, Florida, the Spitzer Space Telescope
is the fourth of NASA's Great Observatories. The other 3 are the Hubble Space Telescope
, the Chandra X-ray Observatory
and Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
. JPL in Pasadena, CA manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, in Washington, D.C. The science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology
(Catech) in Pasadena, which manages JPL.
Nebula
A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and other ionized gases...
in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Large Magellanic Cloud
The Large Magellanic Cloud is a nearby irregular galaxy, and is a satellite of the Milky Way. At a distance of slightly less than 50 kiloparsecs , the LMC is the third closest galaxy to the Milky Way, with the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal and Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy lying closer to the center...
.
This luminous cloud of gas and dust houses a cluster of newborn stars. Although Henize 206 was first catalogued in the 1950s, it was reported in NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
press releases in March 2004, for showing several example images generated from the various infrared cameras on the Spitzer Space Telescope
Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
launched in August 2003.
Photos
The nebula, Henize 206, and the scattered remnants of the exploding star that created it, are pictured in detail in images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (see image below). Henize 206 lies in a satellite galaxy outside the Milky WayMilky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
galaxy, nearly 163,000 light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away, called the Large Magellanic Cloud
Large Magellanic Cloud
The Large Magellanic Cloud is a nearby irregular galaxy, and is a satellite of the Milky Way. At a distance of slightly less than 50 kiloparsecs , the LMC is the third closest galaxy to the Milky Way, with the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal and Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy lying closer to the center...
. The nebula is home to hundreds and possibly thousands of stars, ranging in age from two to 10 million years old.
provide a detailed snapshot of this universal phenomenon of star formation. By imaging Henize 206 in infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
wavelength
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
s, Spitzer was able to see through blankets of dust that dominate visible light views. The image was converted into a conventional photo by reassigning visible colors to the infrared data. The resulting false-color image shows embedded young stars as bright white spots, with the surrounding gas and dust in blue, green and red. Also shown, in the nebula image, is a ring of green gas, which indicates the wake of the ancient supernova's explosion.
Formation and composition
According to theories of stellar formation, as in other stellar nurseries, the stars in Henize 206 were created after a dying star, or supernovaSupernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
, exploded, sending intense shockwaves through clouds of cosmic gas and dust. The gas and dust were subsequently compressed into large groups, then gravity further condensed them into massive objects, and stars were born. Eventually, some of the stars are expected to die in a fiery blast, triggering another cycle of stellar birth and death. This recycling of stellar dust and gas appears to occur throughout the Universe. Earth's own Sun is considered to have descended from multiple generations of stars, as evidenced by heavy elements found, in the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, in concentrations too large for a first-time star.
Detailed observations of a star cluster nebula provide astronomers with a laboratory for understanding the early universe, and stellar birth and death cycles. Unlike larger galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud has a quirk. The gas permeating it contains roughly 20 to 50 percent of the heavier elements, such as iron, possessed by the Sun and gas clouds in the Milky Way. This low-metallicity state approximates the predicted chemical composition of the early Universe, allowing astronomers to compare what stellar life was like billions of years ago, when heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
s were scarce.
Henize 206 was first catalogued in the early 1950s by Dr. Karl Henize, an astronomer who became a NASA astronaut. He flew during the Spacelab-2
Spacelab
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory consisted of multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier and other related hardware housed in the Shuttle's cargo bay...
mission, aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
in July/August 1985. He died in 1993, at age 66, while climbing Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
.
Launched on August 25, 2003, from Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
, Florida, the Spitzer Space Telescope
Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
is the fourth of NASA's Great Observatories. The other 3 are the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
, the Chandra X-ray Observatory
Chandra X-ray Observatory
The Chandra X-ray Observatory is a satellite launched on STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. It was named in honor of Indian-American physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who is known for determining the maximum mass for white dwarfs. "Chandra" also means "moon" or "luminous" in Sanskrit.Chandra...
and Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was a space observatory detecting light from 20 KeV to 30 GeV in Earth orbit from 1991 to 2000. It featured four main telescopes in one spacecraft covering x-rays and gamma-rays, including various specialized sub-instruments and detectors...
. JPL in Pasadena, CA manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, in Washington, D.C. The science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
(Catech) in Pasadena, which manages JPL.