H II regions

E459029

H II regions are vast, glowing clouds of ionized hydrogen gas surrounding young, hot stars, marking active sites of recent star formation in galaxies.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form Occurrences
H II region 0
Sharpless catalog of H II regions 1

Statements (57)

Predicate Object
instanceOf astronomical object
emission nebula
ionized gas region
associatedWith B-type stars
O-type stars
boundedBy ionization front
canTrigger compression of nearby molecular gas
sequential star formation
composedOf electrons
helium
ionized hydrogen gas
protons
trace heavier elements
emits H-alpha line
forbidden lines of nitrogen
forbidden lines of oxygen
forbidden lines of sulfur
hydrogen recombination lines
radio free-free continuum
example 30 Doradus NERFINISHED
Carina Nebula NERFINISHED
Eagle Nebula NERFINISHED
Lagoon Nebula NERFINISHED
NGC 604 NERFINISHED
Orion Nebula NERFINISHED
foundIn Milky Way NERFINISHED
external galaxies
hasCause ultraviolet radiation from hot young stars
hasPhysicalProperty high electron density compared to diffuse interstellar medium
low overall density
often clumpy structure
often filamentary structure
often irregular morphology
strong emission lines
temperature around 7000–10000 K
hasSubtype compact H II region
giant H II region
ultra-compact H II region
ionizedBy Lyman continuum photons
locatedIn galactic disks
irregular galaxies
spiral arms of galaxies
marks sites of recent star formation
namedAfter singly ionized hydrogen (H II) notation
observedWith infrared telescopes
optical telescopes
radio telescopes
partOf interstellar medium
relatedTo Strömgren sphere NERFINISHED
surroundedBy molecular clouds
neutral hydrogen gas
surrounds young massive stars
typicalAge less than a few million years
typicalSize a few to hundreds of light-years across
usedFor measuring chemical abundances in galaxies
studying massive star formation
tracing spiral structure of galaxies

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

IC 10 contains H II regions
IC 1613 contains H II regions
NGC 598 contains H II regions
NGC 281 (Pacman Nebula) isIncludedInCatalogue H II regions
subject surface form: NGC 281
this entity surface form: Sharpless catalog of H II regions