The Tarantula Zone (Sept 1, 2009)
The Tarantula Nebula is a giant (more than 1,000 light years in diameter) star forming region within our nieghboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. Within the Tarantula, intense radiation, stellar winds and supernova shocks from the central young cluster of massive stars, cataloged as R136, energize the nebular glow and shape the spidery filaments. Around the Tarantula are other violent star-forming regions with young star clusters, filaments and bubble-shaped clouds. The rich field is about as wide as the full Moon on the sky, located in the southern constellation Dorado. It was recognized to be a nebula by Abbe Lacaille on December 5, 1751.
Right Ascension 05 : 38.7 (h:m)
Declination -69 : 06 (deg:m)
Distance 179.0 (kly)
Visual Brightness 8 (mag)
Apparent Dimension 40 x 25 (arc min)
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