November 4, 2013 - The Tarantula Within

The Tarantula Within This spiderweb-like tangle of gas and dust is a star-forming region called 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula. It is one of the largest such regions located close to the Milky Way galaxy, and is found in a neighboring galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud. About 2,400 massive stars in the center of 30 Doradus are producing intense radiation and powerful winds as they blow off material. Multimillion-degree gas detected in X-rays (blue) by NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory comes from shock fronts—similar to sonic booms—formed by these stellar winds and by supernova explosions. This hot gas carves out gigantic bubbles in the surrounding cooler gas and dust, shown here in infrared light from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (orange).

Image credit:X-ray: NASA / CXC / PSU / L. Townsley et al.; Infrared: NASA / JPL / PSU / L. Townsley et al.

Weekly Calendar

November 4-10, 2013

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

Monday 4

Taurid meteor shower

Tuesday 5

Election Day

2013: Mars Orbiter Mission launched, India's first interplanetary mission

Wednesday 6

Moon at perigee
Saturn in conjunction with Sun
Venus 8° south of Moon

1572: Tycho Brahe records bright new star (supernova SN 1572) in Cassiopeia
1966: Lunar Orbiter II launched

Thursday 7

Jupiter appears stationary

1963: First flight test of Apollo Launch Escape System
1967: Surveyor 6 launched
1996: Mars Global Surveyor launched
2013: Soyuz TMA-11M launched carrying ISS Expedition 38/39 crew

Friday 8

1656: Edmund Halley born
1984: STS-51A Discovery launched
1995: STS-74 Atlantis launched
2005: ESA’s Venus Express launched

Saturday 9

1934: Carl Sagan born
1967: Surveyor 6 lands on Moon
1967: Apollo 4 launched, first Saturn V launch

Sunday 10

First Quarter Moon 12:57 AM ET
Mercury appears stationary

1970: Luna 17 launched