Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex
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The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is an interstellar cloud system that includes various nebulae, with its center located one degree south of the star ρ Ophiuchi in the constellation Ophiuchus.[1] On the sky, this complex spans 4.5° by 6.5°.[2]
Key facts and history
Two main zones of dense gas and dust make up this cloud complex.[2] Within these clouds, temperatures vary from 13 K to 22 K, and the total mass of material equals roughly 3,000 solar masses.[3]
What the research sources say
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope first anniversary image shows the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex as the closest star-forming region to Earth.[4][5] The lighter-coloured gas surrounding star S1 consists of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a family of carbon-based molecules that are among the most common compounds found in space.[4] A dark cloud sits at the top of the arch of the glowing dust cave, with one streamer curling down the right-hand side.[4][5] The image’s largest jets of red material emanate from within this dark cloud, thick and displaying structure like the rough face of a cliff.[4][5]
The mass of the observed disk of gas and dust is at least twice that of Jupiter and its radius measures about 45 billion km, or 5 times the size of the orbit of Neptune.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: K. Pontoppidan, "Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex", NASA/ESA/CSA STScI, July 12, 2023; "Young Stars in Their Baby Blanket of Dust", Spitzer Multimedia Features, 2008-11-02; Miller, "A Year of Cosmic Wonder With the James Webb Space Telescope - With a new image, NASA commemorates the first anniversary of doing science with the most powerful observatory ever sent to space.", The New York Time (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "APOD: 2010 July 19 - Dark River Wide Field", Astronomy Picture of the Day, 2010-06-06 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Loren, "The cobwebs of Ophiuchus. I - Strands of (C-13)O - The mass distribution", Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, March 15, 1989, p. 902–924; Wilking, B. A., "The discovery of new embedded sources in the centrally condensed core of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud - The formation of a bound cluster", Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, November 15, 1983, p. 698–716 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- K. Pontoppidan, "Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex", NASA/ESA/CSA STScI, July 12, 2023. facts only, no text reused. esawebb.org
- "Rho Ophiuchi (NIRCam Image)", STScI, 2023-07-12. facts only, no text reused. webbtelescope.org
- Grosso, Nicolas, "Infrared Images of an Infant Solar System", Press Releases, May 7, 2002. facts only, no text reused. eso.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Nebulae
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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