Ou 4 : 巨型魷魚星雲
Ou4: The Giant Squid Nebula
來源：Alex Linde｜發表日期：2024-06-17
地球上的魷魚可沒有這麼大。 這個神秘的魷魚狀宇宙雲橫跨地球天空近三個滿月。魷魚星雲由法國天體成像儀尼古拉斯-奧特斯（Nicolas Outters）於 2011 年發現，它的雙極形狀在這裡透過雙電離氧原子發出的藍色輻射而得以區分。雖然魷魚星雲顯然被紅色氫發射區 Sh 2 - 129 所包圍，但其真正的距離和性質一直難以確定。不過，一項調查表明，Ou 4 確實位於約 2300 光年外的Sh 2 - 129 內。根據這一推測，宇宙魷魚將代表著在星雲中心附近看到的由三倍大質量炙熱恆星組成的星系（編入星表的是HR 8119 ）所驅動的壯觀的物質外流。如果是這樣的話，這個真正巨大的魷魚星雲的物理直徑將超過 50 光年。
原文：Squids on Earth aren't this big. This mysterious squid-like cosmic cloud spans nearly three full moons on planet Earth's sky. Discovered in 2011 by French astro-imager Nicolas Outters, the Squid Nebula's bipolar shape is distinguished here by the telltale blue emission from doubly ionized oxygen atoms. Though apparently surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission region Sh2-129, the true distance and nature of the Squid Nebula have been difficult to determine. Still, one investigation suggests Ou4 really does lie within Sh2-129 some 2,300 light-years away. Consistent with that scenario, the cosmic squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, cataloged as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. If so, this truly giant squid nebula would physically be over 50 light-years across.
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