Deep Inside Orion Nebula's Nest : Big Pic
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April 1, 2010 -- Like a web filled with a nest of baby spiders, this stunning image of the Orion nebula has a dense colony of very young stars, eating the surrounding web of gas, generating a beautiful display of stellar light for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to observe.
This new image was only possible after the orbital observatory ran out of coolant in May 2009, beginning a new observing campaign. The telescope's instruments have to be cooled to very low temperatures to allow it to observe in infrared wavelengths, and since running out of its liquid helium supply, Spitzer has started its extended "Warm Mission."
Only two of the shortest-wavelength instruments are now working at the temperature of 30 Kelvin (-406 F), but longer observing campaigns are now possible, watching this cluster of stars being born and varying in brightness.
For a detailed explanation behind what Spitzer is showing us, read "Spitzer Sheds Light on Colony of Baby Stars." But for now, scroll down and enjoy the depth and detail of this most recent view inside the Orion Nebula, including some 1,500 young variable stars Spitzer has studied:
MORE: Spitzer Sheds Light on Colony of Baby Stars
--Ian O'Neill, Discovery News
Image credit: NASA/JPL/CalTech
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