X-Ray Stars and Winds in the Rosette Nebula

X-Ray Stars and Winds in the Rosette Nebula



This mosaic of x-ray imagescuts a swath across the photogenicRosette Nebula, a stellar nursery 5,000 light-years from Earthin the constellation Monoceros theUnicorn.Constructed from data recorded by the orbitin Chandra X-ray Observatory,the mosaic spans less than 100 light-years and is colorcoded to show low energies in red and high energy x-rays in blue.At the upper right is the young star cluste NGC 2244, central tothe Rosette Nebula itself.The hot outer layers of the massive stars are seen to be copioussources of x-rays, but a diffuse x-ray glowalso pervades this cluster of newborn stars.Since these stars are so young (less than few million years old!) the diffusex-ray emission is thought to be powered by energetic collidingstellar winds ratherthan remnants of supernovae explosions,a final act in th life cycleof a massive star.Moving away from the center, south and east across the nebula(upper right to lower left),the hot, blustery environment gives way todense molecular gas, absorbing low energy x-rayswhile revealing the penetrating high energy x-rays from embedded stars.