Monday, January 20, 2014

Orion Nebula in Infrared light

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Photo taken by Spitzer Space Telescope.This telescope show stuff in Infrared.It had run out of liquid helium to chill the detector but the two shortest-wavelength modules of the IRAC camera are still operable.Its called The Warm mission but the spacecraft's passive cooling system keeps the sensors at minus 407 degrees Fahrenheit.
Orion Nebula, an immense stellar nursery some 1,500 light-years away. This stunning false-color view spans about 40 light-years across the region. Compared to its visual wavelength appearance, the brightest portion of the nebula is likewise centered on Orion's young, massive, hot stars, known as the Trapezium Cluster. But the infrared image also detects the nebula's many protostars, still in the process of formation, seen here in red hues. In fact, red spots along the dark dusty filament to the left of the bright cluster include the protostar cataloged as HOPS 68, recently found to have crystals of the silicate mineral olivine within its protostellar envelope.
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