N44 is an emission nebula, which implies its gas has actually been stimulated, or ionized, by the radiation of close-by stars. As the ionized gas begins to cool from its higher-energy state to a lower-energy state, it discharges energy in the form of light, triggering the nebula to glow. Found in the Large Magellanic Cloud, N44 spans about 1,000 light-years and is about 170,000 light-years far from Earth.
Hubble Space Telescope picture of N44, an emission nebula with superbubble structure situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Credit: NASA, ESA, V. Ksoll and D. Gouliermis (Universität Heidelberg), et al.; Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America).
N44 is a complex nebula filled with radiant hydrogen gas, dark lanes of dust, enormous stars, and many populations of stars of various ages. Among its most unique functions, nevertheless, is the dark, starry space called a “superbubble,” visible in this Hubble Space Telescope image in the upper central region.
The hole has to do with 250 light-years large and its presence is still something of a secret. Excellent winds expelled by enormous stars in the bubbles interior might have driven away the gas, but this is inconsistent with determined wind velocities in the bubble. Another possibility, because the nebula is filled with huge stars that would end in titanic explosions, is that the expanding shells of old supernovae sculpted the cosmic cavern.
Astronomers have actually discovered one supernova remnant in the area of the superbubble and recognized a roughly 5 million year distinction in age between stars within and at the rim of the superbubble, showing numerous, chain-reaction star-forming occasions. The deep blue area at about 5 oclock around the superbubble is among the hottest regions of the nebula and the area of the most extreme star development.
