Cloudy with a Chance of Dust

This cloud-strewn new image of RCW 36 (or Gum 20) was captured by ESO’s Focal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS). It shows one of the sites of massive-star formation closest to our Solar System, about 2300 light-years away. Located in the constellation of Vela (The Sails), the RCW 36 emission nebula is only part of an even larger star formation complex, known as the Vela Molecular Ridge.

Some areas in the clouds of RCW 36 are dense enough to block out background light, creating patches and wisps of inky black. Despite the dark appearance of these clouds, they are the only places in the Universe in which star formation occurs; clumps of molecular hydrogen and cosmic dust collapse and come together to form stars encircled by small families of planets, as in our own Solar System.

FORS is mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, one of the world's most advanced astronomical observatories. This image was selected as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems programme, an initiative that produces images of scientifically interesting and visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes for the purposes of education and public outreach. The programme makes use of telescope time that cannot be used for science observations. All data collected may also be suitable for scientific purposes, and are made available to astronomers through ESO’s science archive.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:potw1949a
Type:Observation
Release date:9 December 2019, 06:00
Size:3420 x 3414 px

About the Object

Name:RCW 36
Type:Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission
Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Dark : Molecular Cloud
Distance:2300 light years
Constellation:Vela
Category:Nebulae

Image Formats

Large JPEG
3.2 MB
Screensize JPEG
258.1 KB

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265.7 KB
1280x1024
430.6 KB
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647.2 KB
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795.6 KB
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1.0 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):8 59 29.04
Position (Dec):-43° 45' 51.76"
Field of view:7.18 x 7.17 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.0° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Optical
OIII
504 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2
Optical
b
440 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2
Optical
v
557 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2
Optical
R
655 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2
Optical
H-alpha
660 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS2