Detail View: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection: Hydrogen Blob N88A in the Small Magellanic Cloud
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Title:
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Hydrogen Blob N88A in the Small Magellanic Cloud
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Explanation:
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The bright blob of hydrogen gas [ http://wwwusr.obspm.fr/~heydari/projects/N88 ] cataloged as N88A is seen at the right. It measures a mere 3 light years across. Emerging from the cool, dusty interstellar medium in a nearby irregular galaxy known as the Small Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980125.html ], N88A hides hot young stars at its core. The false-color [ http://aibn47.astro.uni-bonn.de/~gallery/articles/imagecolor.html ] Hubble Space Telescope image was recorded in the characteristic "H-alpha" light emitted by hydrogen atoms [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/absorption.html ] as they are ionized by the young star's energetic ultraviolet light and then recombine. Other regions [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980828.html ] of ionized hydrogen (H II regions [ http://www.treasure-troves.com/astro/HIIRegion.html ]) which surround new born stars can be over a thousand light-years across [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960816.html ] but astronomers now recognize that these small ionized hydrogen blobs contain some of the most massive stars known.
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Credit and Copyright:
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M. Heydari-Malayeri (Paris Observatory [ http://www.obspm.fr/ ]) et al., WFPC2 [ http://www.stsci.edu/hst/#wfpc2 ], HST [ http://www.stsci.edu/hst/ ], ESA [ http://www.esrin.esa.it/ ], NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/ ]
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keyword:
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hydrogen
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facet_where:
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
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facet_what:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
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original url:
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http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990729.html
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UID:
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SPD-APOD-ap990729
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