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    Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070, 30 Doradus)

    Tarantula Nebula
    The largest and brightest emission nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and one of the largest emission nebulae known. The Tarantula Nebula lies at the eastern end of the LMC’s stellar bar. It was first cataloged as a star, 30 Doradus, then discovered to be a nebula by Nicolas Lacaille in 1751-52.

    Also known as the Looped Nebula (a name that goes back to John Herschel), the Tarantula is roughly 100 times larger than the famous Orion Nebula but is illuminated in the same way: by the ultraviolet radiation from a collection of hot, young, massive stars embedded within it. Several OB associations have been observed inside the Tarantula, including the extremely luminous and compact cluster R136 near its center; it is a hotbed of Wolf-Rayet stars. Supernova 1987A occurred in an outlying part of the Tarantula – a harbinger of what lies in store for many of the Nebula’s stars.


    Visual magnitude 8
    Apparent size 40' × 25'
    Diameter 900 light-years, with faint
    extensions out to 6,000 light-years
    Mass ~ 500,000 Msun
    Position R.A. 05h 38.7m, Dec. -69° 06'


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