The region of the Eagle
Nebula has a depth of tens of light years and is in the process of giving life
to new stars.
European astronomy has
scored two major successes in the study of outer space.
Herschel Space
Telescope, the European Space Agency (ESA) has produced a new version of a
classic astronomical target: the Eagle Nebula also called M16.
Other European
telescope, XMM-Newton has provided images of the celestial phenomenon also
novel.
In the case of
Herschel, the remarkable things is that for the first time achieved venture
into the nebula and obtain images of the cloud of dust and gas inside.
The ESA said the images
"make possible seek new stars at a much larger region and gain access to a
broader understanding of the creative and destructive forces operating within
the nebula."
This nebula is a dense
region of gas and dust about 6,500 light years from Earth, which houses a
number of new and bright stars, as an "incubator".
The radiation from
these objects sculpted clouds of gas and dust, producing great columns and
curtains of material in some places, says the scientific affairs correspondent
Jonathan Amos BBC.
It depends on the lens
through which they look
Iconic pillars: the
Hubble telescope (right) sees the light scattered from the columns, the
Herschel (left) detects the pillars shining in their own light.
In this photo, on the
right, the columns are dubbed the "Pillars of Creation", when they
were captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 U.S. and considered one of
the icons of the twentieth century space.
But Herschel and Hubble
see different things in the nebula.
Hubble is sensitive to
optical light, the kind of light we detect with our eyes, which is easily
blocked or scattered by dust and shows us just how the rolling clouds of
material.
Instead Herschel is
sensitive to radiation of a wavelength much greater, far infrared. This detects
the broadcast straight from the cold gas and dust that covers much of the
region.
These images allowed scientists
to intuit the incubator of stars within the nebula, in the cluster known as'
evaporating gaseous globules "but did not prove the formation of these
young stars, because of the darkness that caused the dust in the nebula.
The Herschel
telescope's ability lets you see inside the pillars and curtains, in places
where the dense gas falls by gravity to trigger the nuclear reactions that give
rise to new stars.
That dust is the
material that will form the next generation of stars.
The Herschel image is false
color, the blue material is relatively warm and relatively cold redder.
Relatively, because temperatures are 200 degrees Celsius.
Two telescopes,
European pride
Note the difference
between the two telescopes of the ESA that have achieved the new images and
delve ever seen before thanks to Hubble.
The Herschel infrared
wavelength long, allows astronomers to see inside the pillars and structures in
the region, which will expand in its hunt for new stars.
The XMM-Newton, of
short wavelength infrared, try these hot young stars are responsible for
carving the pillars of creation, according to ESA.
The XMM-Newton sees the
emission energy of the group of new stars NGC6611 (right). The photo on the
left combines data from XMM and Herschel. Different images help scientists
interpret events occurring about 6,500 light years from Earth.
The agency also
released a picture of wavelength of X-rays from the central portion of the
nebula.
The image, taken by the
XMM-Newton telescope, focused group of new hot stars that are shaping the
region.
The intense radiation
of this group of stars, known as NGC6611, is eroding the famous pillars.
Scientists are using
XMM data to try to find the remains of a giant star exploded believed for
thousands of years.
If we could transport
ourselves to the Eagle Nebula now, we could see that the supernova explosion
that killed the pillars.
But due to the great
distance that separates us from it, it is possible that the fate of the pillars
not know until within a long time.
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