Utilizing the Highly Sensitive Wide-Field K-Band Imager (HAWK-I) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have captured stunning new images of the emission nebula RCW 36. These images reveal the vibrant cradles of newly formed stars and intriguing substellar entities known as brown dwarfs.
This captivating VLT/HAWK-I image of emission nebula RCW 36 features dark clouds forming the head and body of a bird of prey, with filaments extending as wings. Below, a fascinating blue nebula hosts a newly formed giant star, illuminating the surrounding gas. Image credit: ESO / de Brito de Vale et al.
Situated approximately 2,300 light-years away in the constellation Hera, RCW 36—also known as Gum 20—is one of the nearest massive star-forming regions to our solar system.
This nebula is part of the expansive star-forming complex known as the Vera Molecular Ridge.
RCW 36 houses a star cluster that dates back around 1.1 million years.
The most massive stars in this young cluster are two O-type stars, alongside several hundred lower-mass stars.
“Embedded star clusters are active sites of very recent star formation located within dense molecular gas clouds in the Milky Way,” explained Dr. Afonso de Brito de Vale, a student and researcher at the Spanish Institute of Astronomical Sciences and the Bordeaux Institute of Astrophysics.
“Within these clouds, stellar and substellar nuclei emerge from local gravitational instabilities, evolving through accretion and contraction processes that expel surrounding gas and dust.”
The hawk-like nebula RCW 36 has been vividly captured by the VLT’s HAWK-I instrument.
“While the most obvious star in this image may be a bright young star, our primary interest lies in the hidden, faint stars known as brown dwarfs—objects that cannot undergo hydrogen fusion in their cores,” Dr. de Brito de Vale noted.
“HAWK-I is perfectly designed for this task, as it operates in infrared wavelengths, where these cold, failed stars are more easily detectable and can correct for atmospheric turbulence using adaptive optics, resulting in exceptionally sharp images.”
“Beyond providing essential data on the formation of brown dwarfs, we have captured a stunning image of a massive star seemingly ‘pushing aside’ clouds of gas and dust, reminiscent of an animal breaking free from an egg.”
“Perhaps a space hawk is watching over the baby star as it ‘hatches’.”
The team’s findings have been published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
_____
ARG de Brito de Vale et al. 2026. A substar group of Vera’s young massive star cluster RCW 36. A&A 706, A149; doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202557493
Source: www.sci.news
