Serpens South

Last updated
Serpens South
Serpens south.jpg
A cluster of new stars called Serpens South.
Courtesy of NASA/ESA
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
Right ascension 18h 30m 03.00s [1]
Declination −02° 01′ 58.2″ [1]
Distance 1422 ± 30 ly (436.0 ± 9.2 pc [2] )
Apparent dimensions (V)14.4 × 20.3 arcmins
Physical characteristics
Radius3.5 × 5 ly
Associations
Constellation Serpens
See also: Open cluster, List of open clusters

The Serpens South star cluster [3] is a relatively dense group of more than 600 young stars, dozens of which are protostars just beginning to form. [4] [5] The cluster is situated in the southern portion of the Serpens cloud (adjacent to the star-forming region known as W40). The stars are embedded in a dense filament of interstellar gas, which is part of the giant molecular cloud that has given rise to the cluster of young stars in W40. This entire complex is located at a distance of 1420 light-years (436 pc) from the Earth, and is approximately the same distance as the Serpens Main cluster. [2]

Contents

The Serpens South cluster can be seen as a small group of stars near the top of this large-scale Spitzer mosaic, just to the right of the center, while the neighboring W40 (left side of the image) dominates in the mid-infrared. The Spitzer Space Telescope's view of W40.jpg
The Serpens South cluster can be seen as a small group of stars near the top of this large-scale Spitzer mosaic, just to the right of the center, while the neighboring W40 (left side of the image) dominates in the mid-infrared.

The cluster was uncovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. [3] This discovery was made possible by the infrared capabilities of this space telescope, which were necessary because the stars are completely obscured by interstellar dust in the Serpens cloud at visible wavelengths. Hundreds of young stellar objects have been detected at mid-infrared objects using these data. [6] X-ray observations by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have also provided detailed information about the stellar cluster. [7] [4] And, the region has served as a laboratory for radio-wavelength studies of star formation in dense molecular filaments. [8]

The discovery of Serpens South is a direct result of the Gould's Belt Legacy project at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, which aims to study all prominent star-forming regions within about 1,600 light-years of Earth. [9] [10] The Gould Belt is a ring of molecular clouds and associated star-forming regions first described by astronomer Benjamin Gould in 1879. Although the Serpens Molecular cloud is too distant to formally be considered a member of the Gould Belt, it is often included in Gould Belt surveys. [2]

Serpens South is located half a degree west of the main W40 cluster and three degrees south of the Serpens Main cluster.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "NAME Serpens South Cluster". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Ortiz-León, G. N.; et al. (2016). "The Gould's Belt Distances Survey (GOBELINS) III. The distance to the Serpens/Aquila Molecular Complex". The Astrophysical Journal. 834 (2): 143. arXiv: 1610.03128 . Bibcode:2017ApJ...834..143O. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/834/2/143 . S2CID   10802135.
  3. 1 2 Gutermuth, R. A.; Bourke, T. L.; Allen, L. E.; Myers, P. C.; Megeath, S. T.; Matthews, B. C.; Jørgensen, J. K.; Di Francesco, J.; Ward-Thompson, D.; Huard, T. L.; Brooke, T. Y.; Dunham, M. M.; Cieza, L. A.; Harvey, P. M.; Chapman, N. L. (2008). "TheSpitzerGould Belt Survey of Large Nearby Interstellar Clouds: Discovery of a Dense Embedded Cluster in the Serpens-Aquila Rift". The Astrophysical Journal. 673 (2): L151 –L154. arXiv: 0712.3303 . Bibcode:2008ApJ...673L.151G. doi:10.1086/528710. ISSN   0004-637X. S2CID   339753.
  4. 1 2 Getman; et al. (2016). "Star Formation In Nearby Clouds (SFiNCs): X-ray And Infrared Source Catalogs And Membership". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 229 (2): 28. arXiv: 1612.05282 . Bibcode:2017ApJS..229...28G. doi: 10.3847/1538-4365/229/2/28 . S2CID   59124520.
  5. ↑ Maury, A. J.; André, P.; Men'shchikov, A.; Könyves, V.; Bontemps, S. (2011). "The formation of active protoclusters in the Aquila rift: a millimeter continuum view". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 535: A77. arXiv: 1108.0668 . Bibcode:2011A&A...535A..77M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117132. ISSN   0004-6361. S2CID   119285813.
  6. ↑ Povich, Matthew S.; Kuhn, Michael A.; Getman, Konstantin V.; Busk, Heather A.; Feigelson, Eric D.; Broos, Patrick S.; Townsley, Leisa K.; King, Robert R.; Naylor, Tim (2013). "THE MYStIX INFRARED-EXCESS SOURCE CATALOG". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 209 (2): 31. arXiv: 1309.4497 . Bibcode:2013ApJS..209...31P. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/209/2/31. ISSN   0067-0049. S2CID   62807763.
  7. ↑ Winston, E. (2009). "A Chandra Snapshot of Serpens South". Chandra Proposal: 11200492. Bibcode:2009cxo..prop.2775W.
  8. ↑ Kirk, H.; et al. (2013). "Filamentary Accretion Flows in the Embedded Serpens South Protocluster". Astrophysical Journal. 766 (2): 115. arXiv: 1301.6792 . Bibcode:2013ApJ...766..115K. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/766/2/115. S2CID   55835836.
  9. ↑ Two Telescopes Combine to Probe Young 'Family' of Stars
  10. ↑ Mission statement - Gould's Belt Survey


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.