| N11 | |
| Credit: | NASA, ESA and Jesús Maíz Apellániz (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain) |
| Type: | emission |
| Type2: | superbubble |
| Epoch: | J2000.0 |
| Ra: | [1] |
| Dist Ly: | 160,000[2] |
| Constellation: | Dorado |
| Radius Ly: | 500[3] |
| Names: | LMC N11, LHA 120-N 11, Bean Nebula |
N11 (also known as LMC N11, LHA 120-N 11) is the brightest emission nebula in the north-west part of the Large Magellanic Cloud in the Dorado constellation.[4] The N11 complex is the second largest H II region of that galaxy, the largest being the Tarantula Nebula. It covers an area approximately 6 arc minutes across.[5] It has an elliptical shape and consists of a large bubble, generally clear interstellar area, surrounded by nine large nebulae.[6] It was named by Karl Henize in 1956.[7]
When close-up, the nebula has pink clouds of glowing gas which resembles candy floss.[7] It has been well studied over the years and extends 1,000 light-years across.
Its particularly notable features include a huge cavity measuring 80 by 60 pc and a five million year old central cluster (NGC 1761). It is surrounded by several ionized clouds where young O stars are forming.[8] [9] Several massive stars are within it, including LH 9, LH 10, LH 13, LH 14. It includes a supernova remnant N11L.[10] In the very centre of NGC 1761 is a bright multiple star HD 32228 which contains a rare blue Wolf-Rayet star, type WC5 or WC6, and an O-type bright giant.[11]
The brightest nebulosity within N11 is the northern region N11B (NGC 1763), also known as the Bean Nebula because of its shape.
On N11B's north-east edge is the more compact N11A, known as the Rose Nebula, which has rose-like petals of gas and dust and are illuminated due to the massive hot stars within its centre.[12] It is also known as IC 2116 and was catalogued as a star HD 32340.
The east side of the N11 complex is N11C (NGC 1769), an emission nebula containing at least two compact open clusters.[13]
Outside the main "bubble" of N11 to the northeast is N11E, also known as NGC 1773, a small bright nebula containing several massive young stars. The south portion of the bubble is N11F, also called NGC 1760. The western portion of the bubble is faint and poorly-defined.[6]
To the south-west of N11 is the 7th magnitude red giant HD 31754, a foreground star/star system, lying close to our sightline with open cluster NGC 1733. Three farther galaxies visible from most southern deep space telescopes and observatories are west of N11: the pair PGC 16243 and PGC 16244; and LEDA 89996. To the south of them lie NGC 1731 and TYC 8889-619-1 which are part of the galaxy's N4 complex. The bright globular cluster NGC 1783 figures to the north of N11.