NGC 2060 explained

NGC 2060
Credit:NASA, ESA
Epoch:J2000.0
Constellation:Dorado
Dist Ly:160,000 ly
Dist Pc:50,000 pc
Appmag V:9.59

NGC 2060 is a star cluster within the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, very close to the larger NGC 2070 cluster containing R136. It was discovered by John Herschel in 1836. It is a loose cluster approximately 10 million years old, within one of the Tarantula Nebula's superbubbles formed by the combined stellar winds of the cluster or by old supernovae.[1]

NGC 2060 is often used synonymously for the supernova remnant N157B[2] (30 Doradus B[3]) which is a larger area of faint nebulosity and strong radio emission. The supernova occurred approximately 5000 years ago from our point of view. In 1998 a pulsar (named PSR J0537-6910) was discovered with the very fast rotation period of 16 milliseconds and the same approximate age as the supernova remnant.[4] VFTS 102 is a runaway O-type main-sequence star found with NGC 2060, which is proposed to be a companion of the pulsar ejected at the time of the supernova explosion.[5]

NGC 2060 has been identified as one of the few locations for OVz stars, stars with unusually strong HeII 468.6 nm absorption indicative of weak stellar winds and relatively low luminosity for the class. These stars are found in extremely young clusters and are thought to be a very early stage in the evolution of the most massive stars.[6] They are also found in the much more massive NGC 2070 cluster nearby in the Tarantula Nebula.

Notes and References

  1. 10.1088/0004-6256/146/3/53 . Sabbi. E.. Hubble Tarantula Treasury Project: Unraveling Tarantula's Web. I. Observational overview and first results. Anderson. J.. Lennon. D. J.. van der Marel. R. P.. Aloisi. A.. Boyer. M. L.. Cignoni. M.. de Marchi. G.. de Mink. S. E.. Selma de Mink . Evans. C. J.. Gallagher III. J. S.. Gordon. K.. Gouliermis. D. A.. Grebel. E. K.. Koekemoer. A. M.. Larsen. S. S.. Panagia. N.. Ryon. J. E.. Smith. L. J.. Tosi. M.. Zaritsky. D.. 2013. 2013AJ....146...53S. 146. 3. The Astronomical Journal. 53. 1304.6747 . 118441242.
  2. 10.1086/152002. Supernova remnants in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Astrophysical Journal. 180. 725. 1973. Mathewson . D. S.. Clarke . J. N. . 1973ApJ...180..725M. free.
  3. 1968MNRAS.139..461L. High resolution observations of the 30 Doradus Nebula at 408 MHz. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 139. 4. 461–469. Le Marne. A. E.. 1968. 10.1093/mnras/139.4.461. free.
  4. 10.1051/0004-6361:20041781. Search for the elusive optical counterpart of PSR J0537?6910 with the HST Advanced Camera for Surveys. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 431. 2. 659–665. 2005. Mignani . R. P.. Pulone . L.. Iannicola . G.. Pavlov . G. G.. Townsley . L.. Kargaltsev . O. Y. . 2005A&A...431..659M. astro-ph/0411047 . 12692116.
  5. 10.1088/2041-8205/743/1/L22. The Vlt-Flames Tarantula Survey: The Fastest Rotating O-Type Star and Shortest Period Lmc Pulsar—Remnants of a Supernova Disrupted Binary?. The Astrophysical Journal. 743. 1. L22. 2011. Dufton . P. L.. Dunstall . P. R.. Evans . C. J.. Brott . I.. Cantiello . M.. De Koter . A.. De Mink . S. E.. Selma de Mink . Fraser . M.. Hénault-Brunet . V.. Howarth . I. D.. Langer . N.. Lennon . D. J.. Markova . N.. Sana . H.. Taylor . W. D.. 2011ApJ...743L..22D. 1111.0157 . 118448435.
  6. 10.1051/0004-6361/201322798 . Sabín-Sanjulián. C.. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. XIII: On the nature of O Vz stars in 30 Doradus. Simón-Díaz. S.. Herrero. A.. Walborn. N. R.. Puls. J.. Maíz Apellániz. J.. Evans. C. J.. Brott. I.. de Koter. A.. Garcia. M.. Markova. N.. Najarro. F.. Ramírez-Agudelo. O. H.. Sana. H.. Taylor. W. D.. Vink. J. S.. 2013. 2014A&A...564A..39S. 564. Astronomy. A39. 1312.3278 . 55965378.

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