N44 H II Region Wall Art including Frame t-shirt over 4 billion years

over 4 billion years

Image Credit: NASA/CXC/RIKEN/T

The colors used in this image represent different wavelengths of infrared light

Astronomers aren't sure how rings like this form in galaxies but some theories suggest they arise out of gravitational disturbances with neighboring galaxies

N44 H II Region Wall Art including Frame t-shirt over 4 billion yearsThis image of the spectacular N44 H II region in the LMC displays (very nearly) its central region, which is dominated by a large, ring shaped nebula that includes a bright stellar association of very luminous stars. It emits X rays this is interpreted as a sign that several heavy stars in this area have exploded as supernova during the last few million years. N44 is a very bright, rich and well studied complex in the LMC, somewhat apart from the