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Collection:
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NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Black Widow Nebula Hiding in the Dust
Title
Black Widow Nebula Hiding in the Dust
Title
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Description:
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In the constellation Circinus, where previous visible-light observations by the Digital Sky Survey (left) saw only a faint hourglass-shaped patch of obscuring dust and gas, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope's dust-piercing eyes see a big "Black Widow Nebula" teeming with clusters of massive young stars (right).
In the Spitzer image, the two opposing bubbles are being formed in opposite directions by the powerful outflows from massive groups of forming stars. The baby stars can be seen as specks of yellow where the two bubbles overlap.
When individual stars form from molecular clouds of gas and dust they produce intense radiation and very strong particle winds. Both the radiation and the stellar winds blow the dust outward from the star creating a cavity or, bubble.
In the case of the Black Widow Nebula, astronomers suspect that a large cloud of gas and dust condensed to create multiple clusters of massive star formation. The combined winds from these groups of large stars probably blew out bubbles into the direction of least resistance, forming a double bubble.
The infrared image was captured by the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) Legacy project. The Spitzer picture is a four-channel false-color composite, showing emission from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8.0 microns (red).
Description
In the constellation Circinus, where previous visible-light observations by the Digital Sky Survey (left) saw only a faint hourglass-shaped patch of obscuring dust and gas, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope's dust-piercing eyes see a big "Black Widow Nebula" teeming with clusters of massive young stars (right).
In the Spitzer image, the two opposing bubbles are being formed in opposite directions by the powerful outflows from massive groups of forming stars. The baby stars can be seen as specks of yellow where the two bubbles overlap.
When individual stars form from molecular clouds of gas and dust they produce intense radiation and very strong particle winds. Both the radiation and the stellar winds blow the dust outward from the star creating a cavity or, bubble.
In the case of the Black Widow Nebula, astronomers suspect that a large cloud of gas and dust condensed to create multiple clusters of massive star formation. The combined winds from these groups of large stars probably blew out bubbles into the direction of least resistance, forming a double bubble.
The infrared image was captured by the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) Legacy project. The Spitzer picture is a four-channel false-color composite, showing emission from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8.0 microns (red).
Description
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Release Date:
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2005/10/28
Release_Date
2005/10/28
Release Date
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Release Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and the GLIMPSE Team
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and the GLIMPSE Team
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and the GLIMPSE Team
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and the GLIMPSE Team
Image Credit
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Object name:
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Black Widow Nebula
Object_name
Black Widow Nebula
Object name
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Object type:
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Nebula, Star forming region
Object_type
Nebula, Star forming region
Object type
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Position (J2000):
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*RA: *15h03m31.98s *Dec: *-57d39m56.60s
Position_(J2000)
*RA: *15h03m31.98s *Dec: *-57d39m56.60s
Position (J2000)
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Constellation:
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Circinus
Constellation
Circinus
Constellation
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Wavelength:
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3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), 8.0 microns (red)
Wavelength
3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), 8.0 microns (red)
Wavelength
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Image scale:
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16x16 arcmin
Image_scale
16x16 arcmin
Image scale
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Instrument:
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IRAC
Instrument
IRAC
Instrument
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Orientation:
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North is 151 deg CW from up
Orientation
North is 151 deg CW from up
Orientation
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note:
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*IRAC view of the Black Widow Nebula* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…sig05-020a_small.jpg ] High-Resolution (1600x1600): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and the GLIMPSE Team
note
*IRAC view of the Black Widow Nebula* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…sig05-020a_small.jpg ] High-Resolution (1600x1600): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and the GLIMPSE Team note
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note:
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*One-channel visible-light comparison image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…sig05-020b_small.jpg ] High-Resolution (1600x1600): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: DSS
note
*One-channel visible-light comparison image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…sig05-020b_small.jpg ] High-Resolution (1600x1600): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: DSS note
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facet_what:
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Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Circinus
facet_what
Circinus
facet_what
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facet_what:
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nebula
facet_what
nebula
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Madison
facet_where
Madison
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Wisconsin
facet_where
Wisconsin
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Washington, D.C.
facet_where
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
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Image #:
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sig05-020
Image_#
sig05-020
Image #
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original url:
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original_url
original url
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UID:
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SPD-SPITZ-sig05-020
UID
SPD-SPITZ-sig05-020
UID
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