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About the Image
- Date
- 2011-05-26
- ID
- ssc2011-06a
- Type
- Observation
- Credit
- NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Megeath (University of Toledo, Ohio)
About the Object
- Name
- Orion Nebula • Messier 42 • M42 • NGC 1976
- Type
- Nebula > Type > Star Formation
- Nebula > Appearance > Dark
- Star > Evolutionary Stage > Protostar
- Distance
- 1,450 Light Years
Color Mapping
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
Infrared | 3.6 µm | Spitzer IRAC |
Infrared | 4.5 µm | Spitzer IRAC |
Infrared | 8.0 µm | Spitzer IRAC |
Infrared | 24.0 µm | Spitzer MIPS |
Astrometrics
- Position (J2000)
- RA = 5h 35m 16.3s
- Dec = -6° 0' 51.2"
- Field of View
- 0.8 x 1.4 degrees
- Orientation
- North is up
- Constellation
- Orion
Stars Adorn Orion's Sword
This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows what lies near the sword of the constellation Orion -- an active stellar nursery containing thousands of young stars and developing protostars. Many will turn out like our sun. Some are even more massive. These massive stars light up the Orion nebula, which is seen here as the bright region near the center of the image.
To the north of the Orion nebula is a dark filamentary cloud of cold dust and gas, over 5 light-years in length, containing ruby red protostars that jewel the hilt of Orion's sword. These are the newest generation of stars in this stellar nursery, and include the protostar HOPS 68, where Spitzer spotted tiny green crystals in a surrounding cloud of gas.
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