November 8, 2021

The N44 nebula (Image NASA, ESA, V. Ksoll and D. Gouliermis (Universität Heidelberg), et al.; Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America))

NASA has released an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of N44, an emission nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Its classification is due to the fact that it glows because of electromagnetic emissions generated by the ionization caused by the stars present in that area. A really curious formation inside it is what was called a superbubble, a kind of cavity inside N44 that’s still without a certain explanation. The stellar winds in the nebula don’t seem to have the necessary characteristics, so the most widely considered hypothesis is that the cavity was excavated by supernovae.