Emission Nebula NGC 7538
Taken @ Kitt Peak National Observatory
June 17, 2004 Image Credit: Fred Calvert / Adam Block / NOAO / AURA /
KPNO / NSF
Emission Nebula NGC 7538 is home for one or more High-Mass Protostar with a rotating disk that has a diameter of about ten of our solar systems or about 800 AUs. (1 AU = the distance from the Sun to Earth) (Our Solar System is about 80 AU in diameter)
Little is still know about High-Mass Protostars, but it is assumed that they are surrounded by an acceleration disk that drives molecular outflow, such as seen in Low-Mass Protostars.
The acceleration disk in NGC7538 has been observed as being very young and extremely massive - and is in the process of forming one or more High-Mass Protostars. [1]
[1] Sandell, Wright, Foster NGC7538 S - a High-Mass Protostar with Rotating Disk
A Protostar is a cloud of hot dense gas and dust that is collapsing under it own gravity to form a star.
NGC7538 is about 7000 light years away in the constellation Cepheus
Equipment:
20" RC Optical System Ritchey Chretien - Cassegrain @ f 5.5 Telescope on a Software Bisque Paramount ME Robotic Mount
SBIG ST10XME with Color Filter Wheel and 6.3 Focal Reducer
Exposure Data:
LRGB color production was used to create this image
Luminance = 90 minutes binned 1x1
Red = 15 minutes binned 1x1
Green = 15 minutes binned 1x1
Blue = 15 minutes binned 1x1olor filter wheel