N70

PR Photo 40d/99 shows a three-colour composite of the N 70 nebula. It
is a "Super Bubble" in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite
galaxy to the Milky Way system, located in the southern sky at a
distance of about 160,000 light-years. This photo is based on CCD
frames obtained with the FORS2 instrument in imaging mode in the
morning of November 5, 1999.

N 70 is a luminous bubble of interstellar gas, measuring about 300
light-years in diameter. It was created by winds from hot, massive
stars and supernova explosions and the interior is filled with
tenuous, hot expanding gas. An object like N70 provides astronomers
with an excellent opportunity to explore the connection between the
lifecycles of stars and the evolution of galaxies. Very massive stars
profoundly affect their environment. They stir and mix the
interstellar clouds of gas and dust, and they leave their mark in the
compositions and locations of future generations of stars and star
systems.

PR Photo 40e/99 is an enlargement of a smaller area of this nebula.

Technical information: Photos 40d/99 is based on a composite of three
images taken through three different filters: B (429 nm; FWHM 88 nm; 3
min; here rendered as blue), V (554 nm; FWHM 111 nm; 3 min; green) and
H-alpha (656 nm; FWHM 6 nm; 3 min; red) during a period of 1.0 arcsec
seeing. The field shown measures 6.8 x 6.8 arcmin and the images were
recorded in frames of 2048 x 2048 pixels, each measuring 0.2
arcsec. The Full Resolution version shows the original pixels. North
is up; East is left.


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