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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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Stellar 'Incubators' Seen Cooking up Stars
Title
Stellar 'Incubators' Seen Cooking up Stars
Title
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Description:
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This image composite compares visible-light and infrared views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of the glowing Trifid Nebula, a giant star-forming cloud of gas and dust located 5,400 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
Visible-light images of the Trifid taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, Baltimore, Md. (inside left) and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, Ariz., (outside left) show a murky cloud lined with dark trails of dust. Data of this same region from the Institute for Radioastronomy millimeter telescope in Spain revealed four dense knots, or cores, of dust (outlined by yellow circles), which are "incubators" for embryonic stars. Astronomers thought these cores were not yet ripe for stars, until Spitzer spotted the warmth of rapidly growing massive embryos tucked inside.
These embryos are indicated with arrows in the false-color Spitzer picture (right), taken by the telescope's infrared array camera. The same embryos cannot be seen in the visible-light pictures (left). Spitzer found clusters of embryos in two of the cores and only single embryos in the other two. This is one of the first times that multiple embryos have been observed in individual cores at this early stage of stellar development.
Description
This image composite compares visible-light and infrared views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of the glowing Trifid Nebula, a giant star-forming cloud of gas and dust located 5,400 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
Visible-light images of the Trifid taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, Baltimore, Md. (inside left) and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, Ariz., (outside left) show a murky cloud lined with dark trails of dust. Data of this same region from the Institute for Radioastronomy millimeter telescope in Spain revealed four dense knots, or cores, of dust (outlined by yellow circles), which are "incubators" for embryonic stars. Astronomers thought these cores were not yet ripe for stars, until Spitzer spotted the warmth of rapidly growing massive embryos tucked inside.
These embryos are indicated with arrows in the false-color Spitzer picture (right), taken by the telescope's infrared array camera. The same embryos cannot be seen in the visible-light pictures (left). Spitzer found clusters of embryos in two of the cores and only single embryos in the other two. This is one of the first times that multiple embryos have been observed in individual cores at this early stage of stellar development.
Description
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Release Date:
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2005/01/12
Release_Date
2005/01/12
Release Date
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Press Release:
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Press_Release
Press Release
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Release Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Rho (SSC/Caltech)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Rho (SSC/Caltech)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/J.R ho(SSC/Caltech)
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/J.R ho(SSC/Caltech)
Image Credit
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Object name:
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Messier 20
Object_name
Messier 20
Object name
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Object name:
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M20
Object_name
M20
Object name
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Object name:
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Trifid Nebula
Object_name
Trifid 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: *18h02m23.40s *Dec: *-23d01m50.10s
Position_(J2000)
*RA: *18h02m23.40s *Dec: *-23d01m50.10s
Position (J2000)
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Distance:
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5,500 light-years or 1.67 kpc
Distance
5,500 light-years or 1.67 kpc
Distance
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Constellation:
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Sagittarius
Constellation
Sagittarius
Constellation
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Wavelength:
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IRAC: 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 microns; MIPS: 24 microns
Wavelength
IRAC: 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 microns; MIPS: 24 microns
Wavelength
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Image scale:
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about 20x25 arcmin
Image_scale
about 20x25 arcmin
Image scale
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Observers:
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J. Rho - Principal Investigator (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech)
W. T. Reach (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech)
B. Lefloch (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique, Observatoire de Grenoble)
G. Fazio (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Observers
J. Rho - Principal Investigator (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech)
W. T. Reach (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech)
B. Lefloch (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique, Observatoire de Grenoble)
G. Fazio (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Observers
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Instrument:
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IRAC MIPS
Instrument
IRAC MIPS
Instrument
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Exposure Date:
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IRAC: 2004-03-31; MIPS: 2004-04-11
Exposure_Date
IRAC: 2004-03-31; MIPS: 2004-04-11
Exposure Date
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Exposure Time:
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IRAC: 8 sec per sky position; MIPS: 48sec per sky position
Exposure_Time
IRAC: 8 sec per sky position; MIPS: 48sec per sky position
Exposure Time
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note:
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*Visible-light image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02b1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (2958x2958): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NOAO
note
*Visible-light image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02b1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (2958x2958): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NOAO note
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note:
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*Visible-light image* Screen-Resolution (450x401): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02b2_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (1231x1096): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/HST
note
*Visible-light image* Screen-Resolution (450x401): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02b2_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (1231x1096): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/HST note
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note:
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*Visible-Light Image with Inset* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02b3_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (2958x2958): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NOAO
note
*Visible-Light Image with Inset* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02b3_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (2958x2958): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NOAO note
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note:
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*Spitzer IRAC Infrared Image (Upsampled)* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02b4_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (2958x2958): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NOAO
note
*Spitzer IRAC Infrared Image (Upsampled)* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02b4_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (2958x2958): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NOAO note
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note:
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*Wider-View Spitzer IRAC Infrared Image (Not Upsampled)* Screen-Resolution (288x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02a3_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (1136x1774): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Rho (SSC/Caltech)
note
*Wider-View Spitzer IRAC Infrared Image (Not Upsampled)* Screen-Resolution (288x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-02a3_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (1136x1774): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Rho (SSC/Caltech) 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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MIPS
facet_what
MIPS
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Sagittarius
facet_what
Sagittarius
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_what:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Spain
facet_where
Spain
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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facet_where:
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Stennis Space Center (SSC)
facet_where
Stennis Space Center (SSC)
facet_where
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Image #:
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ssc2005-02b
Image_#
ssc2005-02b
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-ssc2005-02 b
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2005-02 b
UID
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