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The Tarantula Nebula used to only be called “30 Doradus” when it was first discovered and categorized as a star

An astronomer named Nicolas Luis de Lacaille corrected this star theory and declared it to be a nebula in 1751

Found within the southern constellation Dorado, and nearly 160,000 light years from Earth, the Tarantula Nebula’s luminosity can still be seen and is as bright as ever

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Also known as NGC 2070

Can be found in the Large Magellanic Cloud and is still very much active

Contains more than 800,000 protostars/stars and counting

This star forming giant spans 600 light years across

The order of some of its bright areas which look like legs; this is what contributed to the name of Tarantula Nebula

The new stars constantly being created may be caused by the gas being taken from a small close by  galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud

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https://youtu.be/A6jSK8wUZwg (play)

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Video Credit: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI) Science Credit: NASA, ESA, D. Lennon and E. Sabbi (ESA/STScI), J. Anderson, S. E. de Mink, R. van der Marel, T. Sohn, and N. Walborn (STScI), N. Bastian (Excellence Cluster, Munich), L. Bedin (INAF, Padua), E. Bressert (ESO), P. Crowther (University of Sheffield), A.

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This star forming giant has a huge concentration of massive stars, and/or super star clusters

Many different clusters of old stars that have exploded send radioactive particles out into the nebula; Hodge 301 is an example, it sends particles out into surrounding areas at 200 miles per second

Astronomers have found the most immense stars to date, some even weighing as much as 300 times the mass of the Sun at birth, or around two times as much as the presently accepted limit of 150 solar masses

One of the many large stars in the nebula named R136a1 is a middle aged star with a high luminosity that is 10 million times greater than the sun's

Contains a double or "kissing" binary star system named VFTS 352; this means they are connected, this will become a black hole or a single star

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The Tarantula Nebula? I know what you’re thinking, ‘What is that? Why was it even named that?’. First of all, to spare your worry, this nebula wasn’t named after some huge tarantula that was seen coming out of it. It was named after the order of a few bright star clusters that have a tarantula looking appearance. At around 600 light years across it’s the largest nebula and/or star creating region in our local galaxy group that contains nearly 800,000 stars and protostars! The Tarantula Nebula used to only be called “30 Doradus” when it was first discovered and categorized as a star. An astronomer named Nicolas Luis de Lacaille corrected this star theory and declared it to be a nebula in 1751. Found within the southern constellation Dorado, and nearly 160,000 light years from Earth, the Tarantula Nebula’s luminosity can still be seen and is as bright as ever. The Hubble telescope was the first to photograph this nebula.  Although, it’s not too easy to get a single clear picture of the nebula without having to put together hundreds of different infrared lensed photos. In order to get one full color picture of the Tarantula Nebula it took 438 separate photos layered on top of each other, each displaying a different colored wave length. In the end there is a beautiful picture that gives a peek to just how many bright stars and how much exploding gases are in such a huge nebula.
What actually happens in the big blob of gas and star dust we call the Tarantula Nebula? Well, many different stars are created here; some weighing around 300 times the size of our sun at birth. Many of the star clusters are extremely luminous and one in particular really stands out, R136a1 is 10 million times more bright than our sun! Large concentrations of massive stars and star clusters are what make this nebula so bright and big. Some of the clusters are filled with old stars that have run out of fuel and exploded creating supernovae; one old star cluster specifically is Hodge 301. The exploded stars in this cluster send materials out into the surrounding Tarantula Nebula at around 200 miles per second!  Similar clusters can merge to make even larger clusters; this happens a lot with young stars. The Tarantula Nebula always seems to be creating new stars which may be caused by gas being taken from a small close by  galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
With the name of Tarantula Nebula, this star creating wonder doesn’t disappoint. This nebula contains hundreds of thousands of stars and protostars that are all fascinating in their own way. This nebula is still growing and creates new stars very often; clusters of new and old stars are usually found in a lot of places here too. New discoveries inside of the nebula are constantly being made. For example, there is a double or “kissing” star system in the Tarantula Nebula; these connected stars have the name VFTS 352 and they are a contact binary star system. Those two stars could possibly create a giant black hole or combine to just create a larger star. Astronomers are particularly interested in the Tarantula Nebula because it’s environment is much like the early universe because of its rate of star formation, dust content and metallicity.  The Tarantula Nebula is just one of many things that makes space such an interesting and cool place to learn about.

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Dunbar, Brian. "Hubble Probes Interior of Tarantula Nebula." Hubble Space Telescope. NASA, July 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <https://www.nasa.gov/.../hubble-probes-interior-of-tarantula-nebula>.

Clyde Hughes. "Tarantula Nebula Double Star..." Newsmax.com. Newsmax, 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. <www.newsmax.com/TheWire/tarantula-nebula-double-star/2015/10/22/id/...>.

Space, Pics About. Hubble Telescope Nebula High Resolution. 2012. Tarantula Nebula, n.p.

Zoom into the Tarantula Nebula. Dir. G. Bacon. Perf. NASA, ESA. YouTube. Hubble Space Telescope, 31 Dec. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <https://youtu.be/A6jSK8wUZwg>.