Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/L. Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)

Towering Infernos

This majestic false-color image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the "mountains" where stars are born. Dubbed "Mountains of Creation" by Spitzer scientists, these towering pillars of cool gas and dust are illuminated at their tips with light from warm, embryonic stars.

The new infrared picture is reminiscent of Hubble's iconic visible-light image of the Eagle Nebula (inset), which also features a star-forming region, or nebula, that is being sculpted into pillars by radiation and winds from hot, massive stars. The pillars in the Spitzer image are part of a region called W5, in the Cassiopeia constellation 7,000 light-years away and 50 light-years across. They are more than 10 times in the size of those in the Eagle Nebula (shown to scale here).

The Spitzer's view differs from Hubble's because infrared light penetrates dust, whereas visible light is blocked by it. In the Spitzer image, hundreds of forming stars (white/yellow) can seen for the first time inside the central pillar, and dozens inside the tall pillar to the left. Scientists believe these star clusters were triggered into existence by radiation and winds from an "initiator" star more than 10 times the mass of our Sun. This star is not pictured, but the finger-like pillars "point" toward its location above the image frame.

The Spitzer picture also reveals stars (blue) a bit older than the ones in the pillar tips in the evacuated areas between the clouds. Scientists believe these stars were born around the same time as the massive initiator star not pictured. A third group of young stars occupies the bright area below the central pillar. It is not known whether these stars formed in a related or separate event. Some of the blue dots are foreground stars that are not members of this nebula.

The red color in the Spitzer image represents organic molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These building blocks of life are often found in star-forming clouds of gas and dust. Like small dust grains, they are heated by the light from the young stars, then emit energy in infrared wavelengths.

This image was taken by the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on Spitzer. It is a 4-color composite of infrared light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), and 8.0 microns (red).

About the Object	Object Name: "Mountains of Creation" in W5 Region Object Type: star-forming region Position (J2000): RA: 3h01m56s Dec: +60d35m50s Distance: 2000 pc; 7000 light-years Constellation: Cassiopeia
About the Data	Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/L. Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) Instrument: IRAC Wavelength: 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), 5.8 (orange), 8.0 (red) microns Field of View: 34 x 26 arcminutes Orientation: North is 84 deg CCW from up Release Date: November 9, 2005
Observers	Lori Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) Joseph Hora (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) Luis Chavarria (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) Lynne Deutsch (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)

Individual Images

	Spitzer image (full field) Screen-Resolution (450x335): JPEG High-Resolution (3426x2548): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/L. Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
	Hubble's "Pillars of Creation" Screen-Resolution (456x450): JPEG High-Resolution (1518x1497): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/ ESA/STScI/J. Hester & P. Scowen (Arizona State University)

The Spitzer Space Telescope is a NASA mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This website is maintained by the Spitzer Science Center, located on the campus of the California Institute of Technology and part of NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center.