Figure 18-24: R I V U X G
A Star-Forming Bubble Radiation and winds from the hot, young O and B stars at the center of this Spitzer Space Telescope image have carved out a bubble about 20 pc (70 ly) in diameter in the surrounding gas and dust. The material around the surface of the bubble has been compressed and heated, making the dust glow at the infrared wavelengths used to record this image. The compressed material is so dense that new stars have formed within that material. This glowing cloud, called RCW 79, lies about 5300 pc (17,200 ly) from Earth in the constellation Centaurus.
A Star-Forming Bubble Radiation and winds from the hot, young O and B stars at the center of this Spitzer Space Telescope image have carved out a bubble about 20 pc (70 ly) in diameter in the surrounding gas and dust. The material around the surface of the bubble has been compressed and heated, making the dust glow at the infrared wavelengths used to record this image. The compressed material is so dense that new stars have formed within that material. This glowing cloud, called RCW 79, lies about 5300 pc (17,200 ly) from Earth in the constellation Centaurus.
(NASA; JPL-Caltech; and E. Churchwell, University of Wisconsin-Madison)