Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
The Heart in NGC 346
Explanation:
Yes, it's Valentine's Day [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] (!) and looking toward star cluster NGC 346 [ http://www.seds.org…] in our neighboring galaxy the Small Magellanic Cloud [ http://www.seds.org…], astronomers have noted this heart-shaped cloud [ http://chandra.harv…index.html ] of hot, x-ray emitting gas in the cluster's central region. The false-color Chandra Observatory x-ray image also shows [ http://xxx.lanl.gov…] a strong x-ray source just above the heart-shaped cloud which corresponds to HD 5980, a remarkable, massive binary star system that lies within the cluster. HD 5980 [ http://heasarc.gsfc…hd5980_chandra.html ] has been known to undergo dramatic brightness variations, in 1994 briefly outshining all other stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud, and has been likened to the luminous, eruptive variable star Eta Carinae [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in our own Milky Way galaxy. At about 100 light-years across, NGC 346's [ http://www.asnsw.co…] heart-shaped cloud is probably the result of an ancient supernova explosion. Alternatively it may have been produced during past eruptions from the HD 5980 system, analogous to the nebula associated with Eta Carinae [ http://lheawww.gsfc…eta_car.html ].
Credit and Copyright:
Y.Nazé (Université de Liège [ http://www.ulg.ac.b…]) et al., CXC [ http://chandra.harv…], NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/]
keyword:
x-ray
keyword:
ngc 346
keyword:
hd 5980
keyword:
valentine's day
facet_when:
1994
facet_where:
Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where:
Small Magellanic Cloud
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
Washington, D.C.
facet_what:
USERS
facet_what:
YES
facet_what:
NGC 346
facet_what:
New General Catalogue (NGC)
facet_when_year:
1994
original url:
http://antwrp.gsfc.…
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap030214

The Heart in NGC 346
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