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Credit & Copyright: Josep M. Drudis
Explanation:
Massive stars profoundly affect their galactic environments.
Churning and mixing interstellar clouds of gas and dust,
stars -- most notably those upwards of tens of times the mass of our Sun --
leave their mark on the
compositions and
locations of future
generations
of stars.
Dramatic evidence of this is illustrated in our neighboring galaxy, the
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), by the
featured nebula, Henize 70 (also known as N70 and DEM301).
Henize 70 is actually a luminous superbubble of interstellar gas about 300 light-years
in diameter, blown by
winds from hot, massive stars and
supernova explosions,
with its interior filled with tenuous hot and expanding gas.
Because
superbubbles can expand through
an entire galaxy, they offer
humanity
a chance to explore the connection between the lifecycles of stars and the
evolution of galaxies.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: LMC - superbubble
Publications with words: LMC - superbubble
See also: