Sharpest Image Ever of R136a1, Largest Known Star

Noirlab_noirlab2220a_1024

noirlab_noirlab2220a August 18th, 2022

Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURAAcknowledgment: Image processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab) & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab) 

Nestled in the center of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud is the largest star yet discovered. With the help of the Zorro imager and the power of the 8.1-meter Gemini South telescope in Chile, astronomers have produced the sharpest image ever of this star. This new image challenges our understanding of the most massive stars and suggests that they may not be as massive as previously thought.  

Provider: NOIRLab

Image Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2220a/

Curator: NSF's NOIRLab, Tucson, AZ, USA

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
R136a
Noirlab_noirlab2220a_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 38m 42.4s
DEC = -69° 6’ 2.7”
Orientation
North is 90.8° CW
Field of View
0.0 x 0.0 arcminutes
Constellation
Dorado

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Gemini-S (Zorro) Optical (z) 832.0 nm
Orange Gemini-S (Zorro) Optical (i) 716.0 nm
Green Gemini-S (Zorro) Optical (r) 562.0 nm
Blue Gemini-S (Zorro) Optical (b) 466.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Red
Orange
Green
Blue
Noirlab_noirlab2220a_1280
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ID
noirlab2220a
Subject Category
Subject Name
R136a
Credits
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURAAcknowledgment: Image processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab) & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab) 
Release Date
2022-08-18T13:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2220a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Gemini South, Gemini South, Gemini South, Gemini South
Instrument
Zorro, Zorro, Zorro, Zorro
Color Assignment
Red, Orange, Green, Blue
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
z, i, r, b
Central Wavelength
832, 716, 562, 466
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
84.6765696206, -69.1007546001
Reference Dimension
1024.0, 1024.0
Reference Pixel
512.0, 512.0
Scale
-6.91096610489e-07, 6.91096610489e-07
Rotation
-90.759999999999721
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
NSF's NOIRLab
URL
https://noirlab.edu
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
950 North Cherry Ave.
City
Tucson
State/Province
AZ
Postal Code
85719
Country
USA
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
NSF's NOIRLab
Publisher ID
noirlab
Resource ID
noirlab2220a
Metadata Date
2022-08-17T02:30:42+02:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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