[APML] NGC 3603

[Jerry Lodriguss <jml@astropix.com>]

Someone was asking what the Milky Way's largest HII regions were, wanting 
to compare them to large HII regions in other galaxies like NGC 604 in M33, 
and the smaller regions in M31.

I asked noted observer Tom Polakis this question and he said he asked Brian 
Skiff, and Brian said it was NGC 3603, which is very close to Eta Carina.

Matt, did you make any pictures of NGC 3603 while you were down south?

Tom says he found a paper describing NGC 3603 as the Milky Way's only 
"supergiant HII region", and it is 23,400 light years away from us, about 
the same distance to the center of our galaxy.

Tom adds that in terms of real size, the Tarantula is about 3 times larger.

This seems to be a little photographed nebula by amateurs. Hubble has shot 
the star forming region in the core of the nebula, but I find little on 
line from others.

That is a shame, and a little bit surprising given that it ought to be 
famous as the largest HII region in our galaxy, even if it is overshadowed 
by Eta Carina because Eta is closer and larger in apparent size.

The only good pix I could find of NGC 3603 in Google's image search were:

http://www.astronomie.de/galerie/projekte/namibia_2000/ed-gross/3603.htm

http://web.tiscali.it/starslife/93.htm

2Mass: http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/2mass/gallery/ngc3603atlas.jpg

And of course, there are the hubble pix.

Jerry

Astrophoto Web Site: http://www.astropix.com

Photoshop for Astrophotographers Book: 
http://www.astropix.com/APBOOK/0_PROMO/PROMO.HTM

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