Explanation:
An alluring sight
in dark southern skies, the
Large
Magellanic Cloud
(LMC) is seen here through a narrow filter that transmits only
the red light of hydrogen atoms.
Ionized
by energetic starlight, a hydrogen atom emits the
characteristic red
H-alpha light
as its single electron is
recaptured and transitions to lower energy states.
As a result, this image of the LMC seems covered with
shell-shaped clouds of hydrogen gas
surrounding massive, young stars.
Sculpted by the strong stellar winds and ultraviolet radiation,
the glowing
hydrogen clouds are known as
H II
(ionized hydrogen) regions.
This high resolution mosaic view was recorded in 6 segments, each with
200 minutes of exposure time.
Itself composed of many overlapping shells,
the Tarantula Nebula,
is the large star forming region near top center.
A satellite of our Milky Way Galaxy, the LMC is about 15,000 light-years
across and lies a mere 180,000 light-years away in the constellation
Dorado.
