AAO image reference AAT 40. « Previous || Next »
Top left is NE. Image width is about 13 arc min
Image and text © 1984-2002, Anglo-Australian Observatory, photograph by David Malin.
Although stars are well known to form in clusters, most of the stars in the young groups we know of in our own galaxy are well separated in space. In NGC 3603 the stars are remarkably close together. Moreover, many of the stars in this compact constellation are Wolf-Rayet stars, extremely hot, massive objects, rarely found in such profusion in clusters. Exactly why some clusters form massive stars and others do not is a hot topic in astronomy, so this cluster and its environment has been extensively studied.
This curious collection of young objects is, as far as we know, unique in our galaxy, though the enigmatic object at the centre of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud is now known to be a similar compact cluster. The stars and their associated nebula are seen through considerable dust along the line of sight, and are dimmed and reddened by it.
Entry from NGC 2000.0 (R.W. Sinnott, Ed.) © Sky Publishing Corporation, 1988:
NGC 3576 Nb 11 11.8 -61 23 d Car 20.F, lE, 1st of 6 NGC 3579 Nb 11 11.9 -61 14 d Car F, lE, sbM, 2nd of 6 NGC 3581 Nb 11 12.1 -61 18 r Car *12 with fan-shaped neb att, 3rd of 6 NGC 3582 Nb 11 12.3 -61 16 r Car B, bM*, 4th of 6 NGC 3584 Nb 11 12.4 -61 12 r Car F, L, E 0deg , bM, 5th of 6 NGC 3586 Nb 11 12.6 -61 21 r Car eF, S, E 160deg +/- , 6th of 6
Related Images
AAT 38. NGC 3576 and NGC 3603
AAT 38a. NGC 3576 and NGC 3603 (wide field)
AAT 39. The loops of NGC 3576
For details of photographic exposure, search technical table by AAT reference number