new star is born in the Orion Nebula. Images of the nebula offer a view of what can be referred to as stellar nursery. This view can help researchers better understand the phases of stars, birth and evolution. The birth of a star is something to celebrate so crack open your champagne bottles and let it flow into space because this is a champagne flow seen around the world. The RCW 34’s stellar nursery is something worth celebrating.
Flowing Like Sparkling Champagne
The RCW 34’s stellar nursery is the brightest region that glows within the nebula itself. It is heated dramatically by gas and young stars can expand through the cooler gas. Once the heat reaches the borders of the gas cloud, it bursts outward like an uncorked champagne bottle. This is exactly where this process gets its name. The Champagne Flow forming in the RCW 34’s stellar nursery seems to have several star formations within the same cloud.
Views of RCW 34’s Stellar Nursery From the ESO
The image from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) placed in Chile shows a red cloud of glowing hydrogen gas. Behind this gas is a collection of blue foreground stars. In addition, a group of massive, yet young stars are hiding in the brightest part of the cloud. The stars can affect the nebula dramatically; exposing the gas to strong ultraviolet radiation makes it so the electrons have actually escaped the hydrogen.
Space Photographers Love Hydrogen Red
Hydrogen creates a popular picture when it comes to cosmic photographers because it glows extremely bright with its characteristic red color. This can distinguish many nebulae and can allow photographers to create beautiful and bizarre images and shapes. Most importantly, it is the absolute raw material that causes the champagne flow. Ionized hydrogen is also an indicator of regions that are star forming.
When gas clouds collapse, stars are born. This usually occurs in abundant regions with a large amount of gas just like the RCW 34’s stellar nursery. Because of this, the nebula is where stellar birth and evolution come from. Dust within the nebula can easily block out the inner workings of a stellar nursery. It usually takes place deeply embedded in the clouds. Astronomers can use infrared telescopes such as the VLT to peek through the dust and study the stars.
