蜘蛛星云的网状分布图

This new Hubble image is the best-ever view of a cosmic creepy-crawly（毛骨悚然地） known as the Tarantula Nebula¹, a region full of star clusters, glowing gas, and dark dust. Astronomers² are exploring and mapping this nebula as part of the Hubble Tarantula Treasury³ Project, in a bid to try to understand its starry⁴ anatomy⁵. The Tarantula Nebula is located in one of our closest galactic neighbours, the Large Magellanic Cloud. Hubble has released images of this celestial⁶（天空的） spider several times before: in 2004 (heic0416), 2010 (heic1008), 2011 (heic1105) and 2012 (heic1206). While these images show striking panoramic⁷ views（全景） of this turbulent region, this new image gives us the deepest and most detailed⁸ view yet.   Created using observations taken as part of the Hubble Tarantula Treasury Project (HTTP), this image is composed of near-infrared⁹ observations from both Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Due to the combination of infrared filters in this image a purple haze¹⁰ fills the frame, with deep red wisps of dust and bright stars scattered¹¹ throughout.   This region is an example of an HII region -- a large cloud of partially¹² ionised hydrogen within which new stars are being born. Visible to the left of centre is a sparkling star cluster known as R136. It was initially¹³ identified as a star, but astronomers puzzled over how one single monstrous¹⁴ star could ionise a giant HII region. However, astronomers later realised it was actually a cluster of stars: a super star cluster.   R136 will eventually become a globular cluster: a spherical¹⁵ ball of old stars that orbits around the centre of its host galaxy¹⁶. R136 is so massive that it contributes greatly to the Tarantula's brightness, emitting most of the energy that makes the nebula so visible.   The Hubble Tarantula Treasury Project (HTTP) is scanning and imaging many of the stars within the Tarantula, mapping out the locations and properties of the nebula's stellar inhabitants. These observations will help astronomers to view the nebula and piece together an understanding of the nebula's structure.   This new image is being released today, 9 January 2014, at the 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical¹⁷ Society in Washington, DC, USA.