RCW 49 explained

Credit:	NASA
RCW 49
Type:	H II region
Epoch:	J2000.0
Dist Ly:	13,700
Constellation:	Carina
Radius Ly:	150-200
Names:	RCW 49, GUM 29, NGC 3247

RCW 49, also known as NGC 3247, is a H II region^[1] nebula located 13,700 light years away. Other designations for the RCW 49 region include NGC 3247 and G29^[2] and it is commonly known as the Whirling Dervish Nebula.^[3] It is a dusty stellar nursery that contains more than 2,200 stars and is about 300-400 light years across.^[4] RCW 49 is recognized as among the brightest and most massive HII regions.^[5]

In 2004, a 2003 image by the Spitzer Space Telescope was released showing the nebula in infrared wavelengths.^[6] This included an image showing the infrared colors mapped to visible light colors: 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8 microns (red). It was noted as being almost 14 thousand light years from Earth, and the infrared camera could detect the stars obscured by dust clouds. It was estimated at least 200 of the stars in the nebula have dust disks.^[7]

The results of observations of the Spitzer Telescope, including the IRAC camera, have been studied leading to the conclusion that the region is a star-forming region. In 2014, RCW 49 was identified as a bow shock candidate, along with M17 in a study of Extended Red Objects (ERO's) and Stellar Wind Bow Shocks in the Carina nebula.^[8]

See also

• RCW Catalogue
• Gum Catalog

External links

• • RCW 49 picture and information
  • Web site: Devitt. Terry . Milky Way churning out new stars at a furious pace . May 27, 2004 .
• Constellation Guide Westerlund 2 and Gum 29

Notes and References

1. SIMBAD, RCW 49 (accessed 4 April 2012)
2. Book: Lang, Kenneth R.. Astrophysical Data: Planets and Stars. 2012-12-06. Springer Science & Business Media. 9781468406405. en.
3. Book: Chadwick . Stephen . Cooper . Ian . Imaging the Southern Sky . 11 December 2012 . Springer . 978-1461447498 . 77.
4. Web site: 2006 . A novel type of source? Gamma rays from the vicinity of the Wolf-Rayet binary WR 20a . 2023-01-15 . H.E.S.S. High Energy Stereoscopic System.
5. Whitney . B. A. . Indebetouw . R. . Babler . B. L. . Meade . M. R. . Watson . C. . Wolff . M. J. . Wolfire . M. G. . Clemens . D. P. . Bania . T. M. . Benjamin . R. A. . Cohen . M. . Devine . K. E. . Dickey . J. M. . Heitsch . F. . Jackson . J. M. . 2004 . A GLIMPSE of Star Formation in the Giant H ii Region RCW 49 . The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series . en . 154 . 1 . 315–321 . 10.1086/422557 . 5299205 . 0067-0049. free .
6. Web site: Star Formation in RCW 49. NASA Spitzer Space Telescope. en. 2019-11-08.
7. News: An "Impossibly" Young Planet?. 2004-06-14. Sky & Telescope. en-US. 2019-11-08.
8. Sexton. Remington O.. Povich. Matthew S.. Smith. Nathan. Babler. Brian L.. Meade. Marilyn R.. Rudolph. Alexander L.. 2015-01-01. Extended Red Objects and Stellar Wind Bow Shocks in the Carina Nebula. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 446. 1. 1047–1059. 10.1093/mnras/stu2143. 1410.3518. 2015MNRAS.446.1047S. 1365-2966. free.