A guide map to the 30 Doradus star cluster and Hodge 301.
This was prepared by the astronomers who were responsible for the original
Hubble Space Telescope image of this highly active area in the Tarantula
nebula. I have rotated it in this annoying fashion so it lines up with the
stereoscopic model. The model has to be in portrait format because
landscape will not fit properly on a Holmes stereo card.
Press
here for a detailed description from the original astronomers
The Tarantula Nebula is in a nearby small galaxy: the Large Magellanic Cloud. The cloud is easily seen any clear night from New Zealand and the nebula is so huge it is visible in binoculars, slightly separated from the main cloud. 30 Doradus was once imagined to be a huge star, but the HST clearly shows it is a large cluster of young stars, while Hodge 301 (just outside the stereo version's top edge) is an older cluster.
This image from the MASS project shows why 30 Doradus was once thought to be a star, until the high resolution HST images
The pillars and knots are the same sort of structures already seen in 3D in the rosette nebula.
The author got to know this nebula pretty well while making the 3D version. My favourite structure is the star emerging from its cocoon just to the right of the "CO cloud 2" label, closely followed by the "Southern Pillars".
While constructing the stereo version, the 30 Doradus cluster was originally set up as sitting in front of the nebula, but behind the stapler, as the astronomer's describe. As I fiddled with it I realised there were clouds crossing in front of some of the cluster stars. Its center seemed happier nestling back into the clouds and behind the appropriately named "stapler nebula". So that is how it is in my version.
