30 Doradus


30 Doradus

(dŏ-ray -dŭs, -rah -) (Tarantula nebula; NGC 2070) A very extensive very luminous emission nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) that is a grouping of H II regions characterized by rapid complex motions. It is the brightest object (absolute magnitude –19) in the LMC and is visible to the naked eye. It is also the strongest radio source in the LMC. The most luminous object in the nebula, both at optical and ultraviolet wavelengths, lies near the center and is called R136. It is surrounded by dozens of fainter yet still very bright stars. R136 has at least three components, designated a, b, and c. R136a, the brightest component, is an intense UV source with a powerful stellar wind. Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope have shown that R136a is an extremely dense cluster of at least 12 massive young O stars within a region only 0.25 parsecs across.

30 Doradus

[¦thər·dē də′rä·dəs] (astronomy) Loop Nebula