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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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A Cauldron of Stars at the Galaxy's Center
Title
A Cauldron of Stars at the Galaxy's Center
Title
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Description:
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This dazzling infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows hundreds of thousands of stars crowded into the swirling core of our spiral Milky Way galaxy. In visible-light pictures, this region cannot be seen at all because dust lying between Earth and the galactic center blocks our view.
In this false-color picture, old and cool stars are blue, while dust features lit up by blazing hot, massive stars are shown in a reddish hue. Both bright and dark filamentary clouds can be seen, many of which harbor stellar nurseries. The plane of the Milky Way's flat disk is apparent as the main, horizontal band of clouds. The brightest white spot in the middle is the very center of the galaxy, which also marks the site of a supermassive black hole.
The region pictured here is immense, with a horizontal span of 890 light-years and a vertical span of 640 light-years. Earth is located 26,000 light-years away, out in one of the Milky Way's spiral arms. Though most of the objects seen in this image are located at the galactic center, the features above and below the galactic plane tend to lie closer to Earth.
Scientists are intrigued by the giant lobes of dust extending away from the plane of the galaxy. They believe the lobes may have been formed by winds from massive stars.
This image is a mosaic of thousands of short exposures taken by Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), and 8.0 microns (red). The entire region was imaged in less than 16 hours.
Description
This dazzling infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows hundreds of thousands of stars crowded into the swirling core of our spiral Milky Way galaxy. In visible-light pictures, this region cannot be seen at all because dust lying between Earth and the galactic center blocks our view.
In this false-color picture, old and cool stars are blue, while dust features lit up by blazing hot, massive stars are shown in a reddish hue. Both bright and dark filamentary clouds can be seen, many of which harbor stellar nurseries. The plane of the Milky Way's flat disk is apparent as the main, horizontal band of clouds. The brightest white spot in the middle is the very center of the galaxy, which also marks the site of a supermassive black hole.
The region pictured here is immense, with a horizontal span of 890 light-years and a vertical span of 640 light-years. Earth is located 26,000 light-years away, out in one of the Milky Way's spiral arms. Though most of the objects seen in this image are located at the galactic center, the features above and below the galactic plane tend to lie closer to Earth.
Scientists are intrigued by the giant lobes of dust extending away from the plane of the galaxy. They believe the lobes may have been formed by winds from massive stars.
This image is a mosaic of thousands of short exposures taken by Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), and 8.0 microns (red). The entire region was imaged in less than 16 hours.
Description
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Release Date:
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2006/01/10
Release_Date
2006/01/10
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/S. Stolovy (SSC/Caltech)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (SSC/Caltech)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/ Caltech)
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/ Caltech)
Image Credit
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Object name:
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Galactic Center
Object_name
Galactic Center
Object name
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Object type:
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Spiral galaxy
Object_type
Spiral galaxy
Object type
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Position (J2000):
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*Galactic latitude: *0.0 *Galactic longitude: *0.0
Position_(J2000)
*Galactic latitude: *0.0 *Galactic longitude: *0.0
Position (J2000)
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Distance:
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26,000 light-years
Distance
26,000 light-years
Distance
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Constellation:
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Sagittarius
Constellation
Sagittarius
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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1.9x1.4 degrees
Image_scale
1.9x1.4 degrees
Image scale
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Observers:
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Susan Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech)
Solange Ramirez (IPAC)
Rick G. Arendt (SSAI/GSFC)
Dan Gezari (GSFC)
Casey Law (Northwestern University)
Angela Cotera (SETI)
Jennifer Karr (Academia Sinica)
Farhad Yusef-Zadeh (Northwestern University)
Harvey Moseley (GSFC)
Kris Sellgren (OSU)
Howard A. Smith (CfA)
Randall Smith (JHU)
Observers
Susan Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech)
Solange Ramirez (IPAC)
Rick G. Arendt (SSAI/GSFC)
Dan Gezari (GSFC)
Casey Law (Northwestern University)
Angela Cotera (SETI)
Jennifer Karr (Academia Sinica)
Farhad Yusef-Zadeh (Northwestern University)
Harvey Moseley (GSFC)
Kris Sellgren (OSU)
Howard A. Smith (CfA)
Randall Smith (JHU)
Observers
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Instrument:
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IRAC
Instrument
IRAC
Instrument
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Exposure Date:
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Sept 3, 2004 and Sept 15, 2005
Exposure_Date
Sept 3, 2004 and Sept 15, 2005
Exposure Date
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Exposure Time:
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10 seconds per position
Exposure_Time
10 seconds per position
Exposure Time
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Orientation:
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galactic north is up, galactic east is to the left
Orientation
galactic north is up, galactic east is to the left
Orientation
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note:
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*Unpackaged, full-resolution image* Screen-Resolution (450x325): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2006-02a1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (7002x5050): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (SSC/Caltech)
note
*Unpackaged, full-resolution image* Screen-Resolution (450x325): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2006-02a1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (7002x5050): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (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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Earth
facet_what
Earth
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_where:
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Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where
Milky Way Galaxy
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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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
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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facet_when:
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Sept 3, 2004
facet_when
Sept 3, 2004
facet_when
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facet_when:
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Sept 15, 2005
facet_when
Sept 15, 2005
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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2005
facet_when_year
2005
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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2004
facet_when_year
2004
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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ssc2006-02a
Image_#
ssc2006-02a
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-ssc2006-02 a
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2006-02 a
UID
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