Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2015 January 19
Infrared Orion from WISE
Image Credit: WISE, IRSA, NASA; Processing & Copyright : Francesco Antonucci
Explanation: The Great Nebula in Orion is an intriguing place. Visible to the unaided eye, it appears as a small
fuzzy patch in the
constellation of Orion. But
this image, an illusory-color four-panel mosaic taken in different bands of
infrared light with the Earth orbiting
WISE observatory, shows the
Orion Nebula to be a bustling
neighborhood or recently formed stars, hot gas, and dark dust. The power behind much of the
Orion Nebula (M42) is the stars of the
Trapezium star cluster, seen near the center of the
above wide field image. The orange glow surrounding the bright stars pictured here is their own
starlight reflected by intricate
dust filaments that cover much of
the region. The current
Orion Nebula cloud complex, which
includes the
Horsehead Nebula, will slowly disperse over the next 100,000 years.
Now Available: APOD 2015 Wall Calendars
Tomorrow's picture: comet tails
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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