NGC 6357

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NGC 6357
Emission nebula
H II region
Cosmic 'Winter' Wonderland.jpg
NGC 6357 composite image
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension 17h 24m [1]
Declination −34° 20 [1]
Distance~5900±450 [2]   ly    (1800±140  pc)
Constellation Scorpius [3]
DesignationsWar and Peace Nebula, [1] Lobster Nebula [4] Sharpless 11, RCW 131, Gum 66, Madokami
See also: Lists of nebulae

NGC 6357 is a diffuse nebula near NGC 6334 in the constellation Scorpius. The nebula contains many proto-stars shielded by dark discs of gas, and young stars wrapped in expanding "cocoons" or expanding gases surrounding these small stars. It is also known as the Lobster Nebula. [4] [5] This nebula was given the name War and Peace Nebula by the Midcourse Space Experiment scientists because of its appearance, which, in infrared images the bright, western part resembles a dove, while the eastern part looks like a skull. [6] A petition by anime fans to rename it as the Madokami nebula, due to resemblance with a character, was unsuccessful. [7] [8]

Contents

It is located about ~5,500 light years away from Earth. [9]

Associated open clusters

Pismis 24

A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of Pismis 24-1, the "core" of NGC 6357. EmissionNebula NGC6357.jpg
A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of Pismis 24-1, the "core" of NGC 6357.
Dark Energy Camera captures the star-forming nebula NGC 6357 NGC 6357.jpg
Dark Energy Camera captures the star-forming nebula NGC 6357

This nebula includes the open cluster Pismis 24, which is home to several massive stars. One of the brightest stars in the cluster, Pismis 24-1, was thought possibly to be the most massive on record, approaching 300 solar masses, until it was discovered to be a multiple system of at least three stars; component stars would still remain near 100 solar masses each, making them among the more massive stars on record. [10] [11]

G353.2+0.7

The young stellar cluster G353.2+0.7 lies east of Pismis 24 and was revealed by a Chandra X-ray image showing approximately 800 stars. [12]

G353.1+0.6

The young stellar cluster G353.1+0.6 lies southeast of Pismis 24 and also contains approximately 800 stars detected by X-ray. [12] The region includes several O-type stars, including [BDSB2003] 10. [13]

Massive stars

NGC 6357 is one of the most prominent sites of massive-star formation in our neighborhood of the Milky Way. A variety of early O-type stars reside in this nebula, blowing the bubbles around the star clusters that can be seen in the molecular cloud.

Prominent stars in Pismis 24 [14]
Star nameSpectral typeMagnitude
(Mbol)
Temperature [15]
(K)
Radius
(R)
Mass
(M)
WR 93 (HD 157504)WC7-11.271,00010120
Pismis 24-1NEO3.5 If*10.042,0001774
Pismis 24-1SWO4 III9.841,5001666
Pismis 24-2O5.5 V(f)8.940,0001243
Pismis 24-3O8 V7.733,400925
Pismis 24-10O9 V7.231,500820
Pismis 24-12B1 V5.330,000411
Pismis 24-13O6.5 III((f))8.635,6001235
Pismis 24-15O8 V7.833,4001025
Pismis 24-16O7.5 V9.034,0001638
Pismis 24-17O3.5 III10.142,7001778
Pismis 24-18B0.5 V6.430,000615
Pismis 24-19B0.5 V5.430,000411

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">R136</span> Super star cluster in the constellation Dorado, in the Large Magellanic Cloud

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pismis 24-1</span>

Pismis 24-1, also known as HD 319718, is the brightest star of the open cluster Pismis 24 within the nebula NGC 6357 about 6,500 light-years away. It was once thought to be the most massive star known, but is composed of at least three individual objects, each still among the most luminous and most massive stars known.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6193</span> Open star cluster in the constellation Ara

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westerlund 1-75</span> Red supergiant in the Westerlund 1 super star cluster

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "NGC 6357". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2007-05-03.
  2. Kuhn, Michael A.; Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Sills, Alison; Feigelson, Eric D.; Getman, Konstantin V. (2018). "Kinematics in Young Star Clusters and Associations with Gaia DR2". The Astrophysical Journal. 870 (1): 32. arXiv: 1807.02115 . Bibcode:2019ApJ...870...32K. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/aaef8c . S2CID   119328315.
  3. R. W. Sinnott, ed. (1988). The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters by J. L. E. Dreyer. Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-933346-51-2.
  4. 1 2 Sample, Ian (20 February 2013). "Lobster Nebula – birthplace of stars – revealed in infrared". the Guardian.
  5. "Lobster Nebula Seen with ESO's VISTA Telescope Space Wallpaper". Space.com . 25 February 2013.
  6. "2MASS Picture of the Week Archive Captions".
  7. "There Is A New Petition To Name A Nebula After "Ultimate Madoka"". crunchyroll.com.
  8. "NGC 6357. The Lobster Nebula". astrodrudis.com.
  9. "Winter Wonderland' Glows in Space as Nebula Is Wreathed in Wintry Colors". Space.com. 20 December 2016.
  10. "ESA Science & Technology: Star on a Hubble diet NGC 6357". Archived from the original on 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  11. Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (19 December 2006). "NASA: Massive Stars in Open Cluster Pismis 24". Astronomy Picture of the Day . NASA.
  12. 1 2 Townsley, L. K.; et al. (2014). "The Massive Star-Forming Regions Omnibus X-Ray Catalog". Astrophysical Journal Supplement. 213 (1): 1. arXiv: 1403.2576 . Bibcode:2014ApJS..213....1T. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/213/1/1. S2CID   76658453.
  13. Damke, G.; et al. (2006). "The open cluster G353.1+0.7 in NGC6357". Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica. 26: 180. Bibcode:2006RMxAC..26..180D.
  14. Fang, M.; Van Boekel, R.; King, R. R.; Henning, T.; Bouwman, J.; Doi, Y.; Okamoto, Y. K.; Roccatagliata, V.; Sicilia-Aguilar, A. (2012). "Star formation and disk properties in Pismis 24". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 539: A119. arXiv: 1201.0833 . Bibcode:2012A&A...539A.119F. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015914. S2CID   73612793.
  15. Martins, F.; Schaerer, D.; Hillier, D. J. (2005). "A new calibration of stellar parameters of Galactic O stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 436 (3): 1049–1065. arXiv: astro-ph/0503346 . Bibcode:2005A&A...436.1049M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20042386. S2CID   39162419.
  1. Star Forming Region NGC 6357 showing complex interactions between interstellar winds, radiation pressures and magnetic fields.
  2. A Massive Star in NGC 6357 with a close-up of Pismis 24.
  3. NGC 6357: Cathedral to Massive Stars
  4. A Massive Star in NGC 6357
  5. NGC 6357: Cathedral to Massive Stars
  6. NGC 6357: The Lobster Nebula