Kimberly Arcand
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kimberlykowal.bsky.social
Kimberly Arcand
@kimberlykowal.bsky.social
82 followers 40 following 1 posts
Visualization scientist, PhD. Emerging tech/data viz/X-ray astronomy. Speaker/author: latest book on Light is now out. Opinions are my own; she/her; http://kimarcand.com
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A valentine just for you, love the Universe.

A bouquet of young stars is on display in this image of 30 Doradus -a bright crowded regions of star formation. This image has X-rays, optical, IR & radio data & is the deepest X-ray image of 30 Dor, w/1000s of sources: chandra.si.edu/photo/2025/3...
30 Doradus is a powerful stellar nursery. In 23 days of observation, the Chandra X-ray telescope revealed thousands of distinct star systems. Chandra data also revealed a diffuse X-ray glow from winds blowing off giant stars, and X-ray gas expelled by exploding stars, or supernovas. In this image, the X-ray wind and gas takes the shape of a massive purple and pink bouquet with an extended central flower, or perhaps a leaf from a maple tree. The hazy, mottled shape occupies much of the image, positioned just to our left of center, tilted slightly to our left. Inside the purple and pink gas and wind cloud are red and orange veins, and pockets of bright white light. The pockets of white light represent clusters of young stars. One cluster at the heart of 30 Doradus houses the most massive stars astronomers have ever found.
February 12, 2025 at 5:57 PM