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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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Chaotic Star Birth
Title
Chaotic Star Birth
Title
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Description:
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Located 1,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Perseus, a reflection nebula called NGC 1333 epitomizes the beautiful chaos of a dense group of stars being born. Most of the visible light from the young stars in this region is obscured by the dense, dusty cloud in which they formed. With NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists can detect the infrared light from these objects. This allows a look through the dust to gain a more detailed understanding of how stars like our sun begin their lives.
The young stars in NGC 1333 do not form a single cluster, but are split between two sub-groups. One group is to the north near the nebula shown as red in the image. The other group is south, where the features shown in yellow and green abound in the densest part of the natal gas cloud. With the sharp infrared eyes of Spitzer, scientists can detect and characterize the warm and dusty disks of material that surround forming stars. By looking for differences in the disk properties between the two subgroups, they hope to find hints of the star- and planet-formation history of this region.
The knotty yellow-green features located in the lower portion of the image are glowing shock fronts where jets of material, spewed from extremely young embryonic stars, are plowing into the cold, dense gas nearby. The sheer number of separate jets that appear in this region is unprecedented. This leads scientists to believe that by stirring up the cold gas, the jets may contribute to the eventual dispersal of the gas cloud, preventing more stars from forming in NGC 1333.
In contrast, the upper portion of the image is dominated by the infrared light from warm dust, shown as red.
Description
Located 1,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Perseus, a reflection nebula called NGC 1333 epitomizes the beautiful chaos of a dense group of stars being born. Most of the visible light from the young stars in this region is obscured by the dense, dusty cloud in which they formed. With NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists can detect the infrared light from these objects. This allows a look through the dust to gain a more detailed understanding of how stars like our sun begin their lives.
The young stars in NGC 1333 do not form a single cluster, but are split between two sub-groups. One group is to the north near the nebula shown as red in the image. The other group is south, where the features shown in yellow and green abound in the densest part of the natal gas cloud. With the sharp infrared eyes of Spitzer, scientists can detect and characterize the warm and dusty disks of material that surround forming stars. By looking for differences in the disk properties between the two subgroups, they hope to find hints of the star- and planet-formation history of this region.
The knotty yellow-green features located in the lower portion of the image are glowing shock fronts where jets of material, spewed from extremely young embryonic stars, are plowing into the cold, dense gas nearby. The sheer number of separate jets that appear in this region is unprecedented. This leads scientists to believe that by stirring up the cold gas, the jets may contribute to the eventual dispersal of the gas cloud, preventing more stars from forming in NGC 1333.
In contrast, the upper portion of the image is dominated by the infrared light from warm dust, shown as red.
Description
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Release Date:
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2005/11/15
Release_Date
2005/11/15
Release Date
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Release Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. A. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. A. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. A. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. A. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
Image Credit
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Object name:
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NGC 1333
Object_name
NGC 1333
Object name
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Object type:
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Reflection nebula, Star forming region
Object_type
Reflection nebula, Star forming region
Object type
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Position (J2000):
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*RA: *03h29m4.00s *Dec: *31d18m50.00s
Position_(J2000)
*RA: *03h29m4.00s *Dec: *31d18m50.00s
Position (J2000)
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Distance:
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1,000 light-years
Distance
1,000 light-years
Distance
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Constellation:
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Perseus
Constellation
Perseus
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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26 x 34 arcmin
Image_scale
26 x 34 arcmin
Image scale
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Observers:
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Rob Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Alicia Porras (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Lori Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Rebecca Dell (Harvard University)
Phil Myers (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Tom Megeath (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
James Muzerolle (Steward Observatory/Universi ty of Arizona)
Judy Pipher (University of Rochester)
Observers
Rob Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Alicia Porras (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Lori Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Rebecca Dell (Harvard University)
Phil Myers (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Tom Megeath (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
James Muzerolle (Steward Observatory/Universi ty of Arizona)
Judy Pipher (University of Rochester)
Observers
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Instrument:
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IRAC
Instrument
IRAC
Instrument
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Exposure Date:
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February 10, 2004 and September 8, 2004
Exposure_Date
February 10, 2004 and September 8, 2004
Exposure Date
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Exposure Time:
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48 seconds per position in combined mosaics
Exposure_Time
48 seconds per position in combined mosaics
Exposure Time
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Orientation:
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14.5 deg CCW from up
Orientation
14.5 deg CCW from up
Orientation
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Related links:
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Related_links
Related links
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note:
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*Image without packaging* Screen-Resolution (349x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-24a1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (2100x2705): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. A. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
note
*Image without packaging* Screen-Resolution (349x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-24a1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (2100x2705): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. A. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) 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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Visible Light
facet_what
Visible Light
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Perseus
facet_what
Perseus
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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Arizona
facet_where
Arizona
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_when:
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February 10, 2004
facet_when
February 10, 2004
facet_when
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facet_when:
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September 8, 2004
facet_when
September 8, 2004
facet_when
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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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ssc2005-24a
Image_#
ssc2005-24a
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-ssc2005-24 a
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2005-24 a
UID
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