What is the Tarantula Nebula?
Q: What is the Tarantula Nebula?
A: The Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus) is an H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
Q: When was it first discovered?
A: It was originally thought to be a star, but in 1751 Lacaille recognized it was a nebula.
Q: How bright is the Tarantula Nebula?
A: The Tarantula nebula has an apparent magnitude of 8 and its luminosity is so great that if it were as close to Earth as the Orion Nebula, the Tarantula nebula would cast shadows.
Q: How large is the Tarantula Nebula?
A: It is one of the largest such regions in the Local Group with an estimated diameter of 200 pc.
Q: What star cluster lies at its centre?
A: At its centre lies the star cluster NGC 2070 which includes the group of stars known as R136. This group puts out most of the energy that makes the nebula visible.
Q: What is estimated mass of this cluster?
A: The estimated mass of this cluster is 450,000 solar masses.
Q: What supernova occurred near this nebular region?
A: The closest supernova observed since the invention of telescope, Supernova 1987A, occurred in outskirts of this nebular region.
