Using the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera at NSF/NOIRLab Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, astronomers have produced a stunning image of the star-forming interstellar cloud Lupus 3.
The two young, low-mass protostars HR 5999 and HR 6000 illuminate nearby dust, creating the reflection nebula Bernes 149. These stars grew out of the dusty dark cloud of Lupus 3, part of a larger complex of as many as nine dark clouds. Image credit: CTIO / NOIRLab / DOE / NSF / AURA / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / D. de Martin & M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.
Lupus 3 is one of at least nine interstellar clouds within the massive Lupus cloud complex.
Also known as Lupus III and GF 21, the cloud is located about 500 light-years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation Lupus.
Lupus 3 has an irregular form and stretches across an area of the sky equivalent to about 24 Moon-diameters as seen from Earth.
“The two blue stars blazing in the center of the sprawling nebula, known as HR 5999 and HR 6000illuminate nearby gas and dust, creating the bright blue reflection nebula 149 of Bern,” NOIRLab astronomers said in a statement.
“These stars grew out of the dark nebula Lupus 3, which stretches like a blanket across the background of stars.”
“This cloud is not just a coal-black cosmic blob, however. It is home to a fleet of infant stars known as T Tauri stars, which will eventually use the material of Lupus 3 to grow into fully fledged stars.”
“At the relatively young age of about 1 million years, HR 5999 and HR 6000 are the oldest of the stars in the Lupus 3 region.”
“These stars are pre-main-sequence stars, meaning that despite their brightness, they are not yet powered by nuclear fusion, like our Sun.”
“They are instead powered by gravity, which compresses and heats up the internal matter.”
“These sibling stars have blown away nearby gas and dust, illuminating the remnants and creating the Bernes 149 reflection nebula.”
“When the true nature of this nebula was first discovered, astronomers hoped that it and similar regions would be useful in finding areas of recent or active star formation,” they said.
“This hunch was proven correct and Lupus 3 has since provided many insights into the early stages of star formation.”
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