GUM 23

High-Res

Object: GUM 23

Gum 23 is a large, bright emission nebula lying approximately 5500 light-years from Earth in the direction of the southern constellation Vela (The Sails). Buried and hidden within its cloak of dust and gas is a young, massive star forming region known as RCW 38. This cluster is located deep within the brightest knot of the nebula (Gum 22) as seen in the above image. Less than 1 million years old, it harbors over a thousand stars with a massive O5.5V star at its heart. The stellar wind from this giant has evacuated a 0.6 light-year diameter ìbubbleî around it and contributed, along with its neighbors, to the ionization of the surrounding hydrogen gas by virtue of intense UV radiation. Many of the massive stars in this cluster will be short-lived and end their lives as supernovae, making RCW 38 a powerful and violent region of space.