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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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Where Galactic Snakes Live
Title
Where Galactic Snakes Live
Title
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Description:
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This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows what astronomers are referring to as a "snake" (upper left) and its surrounding stormy environment. The sinuous object is actually the core of a thick, sooty cloud large enough to swallow dozens of solar systems. In fact, astronomers say the "snake's belly" may be harboring beastly stars in the process of forming.
The galactic creepy crawler to the right of the snake is another thick cloud core, in which additional burgeoning massive stars might be lurking. The colorful regions below the two cloud cores are less dense cloud material, in which dust has been heated by starlight and glows with infrared light. Yellow and orange dots throughout the image are monstrous developing stars; the red star on the "belly" of the snake is 20 to 50 times as massive as our sun. The blue dots are foreground stars.
The red ball at the bottom left is a "supernova remnant," the remains of massive star that died in a fiery blast. Astronomers speculate that radiation and winds from the star before it died, in addition to a shock wave created when it exploded, might have played a role in creating the snake.
Spitzer was able to spot the two black cloud cores using its heat-seeking infrared vision. The objects are hiding in the dusty plane of our Milky Way galaxy, invisible to optical telescopes. Because their heat, or infrared light, can sneak through the dust, they first showed up in infrared images from past missions. The cloud cores are so thick with dust that if you were to somehow transport yourself into the middle of them, you would see nothing but black, not even a star in the sky. Now, that's spooky!
Spitzer's new view of the region provides the best look yet at the massive embryonic stars hiding inside the snake. Astronomers say these observations will ultimately help them better understand how massive stars form. By studying the clustering and range of masses of the stellar embryos, they hope to determine if the stars were born in the same way that our low-mass sun was formed -- out of a collapsing cloud of gas and dust -- or by another mechanism in which the environment plays a larger role.
The snake is located about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
This false-color image is a composite of infrared data taken by Spitzer's infrared array camera and multiband imaging photometer. Blue represents 3.6-micron light; green shows light of 8 microns; and red is 24-micron light.
Description
This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows what astronomers are referring to as a "snake" (upper left) and its surrounding stormy environment. The sinuous object is actually the core of a thick, sooty cloud large enough to swallow dozens of solar systems. In fact, astronomers say the "snake's belly" may be harboring beastly stars in the process of forming.
The galactic creepy crawler to the right of the snake is another thick cloud core, in which additional burgeoning massive stars might be lurking. The colorful regions below the two cloud cores are less dense cloud material, in which dust has been heated by starlight and glows with infrared light. Yellow and orange dots throughout the image are monstrous developing stars; the red star on the "belly" of the snake is 20 to 50 times as massive as our sun. The blue dots are foreground stars.
The red ball at the bottom left is a "supernova remnant," the remains of massive star that died in a fiery blast. Astronomers speculate that radiation and winds from the star before it died, in addition to a shock wave created when it exploded, might have played a role in creating the snake.
Spitzer was able to spot the two black cloud cores using its heat-seeking infrared vision. The objects are hiding in the dusty plane of our Milky Way galaxy, invisible to optical telescopes. Because their heat, or infrared light, can sneak through the dust, they first showed up in infrared images from past missions. The cloud cores are so thick with dust that if you were to somehow transport yourself into the middle of them, you would see nothing but black, not even a star in the sky. Now, that's spooky!
Spitzer's new view of the region provides the best look yet at the massive embryonic stars hiding inside the snake. Astronomers say these observations will ultimately help them better understand how massive stars form. By studying the clustering and range of masses of the stellar embryos, they hope to determine if the stars were born in the same way that our low-mass sun was formed -- out of a collapsing cloud of gas and dust -- or by another mechanism in which the environment plays a larger role.
The snake is located about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
This false-color image is a composite of infrared data taken by Spitzer's infrared array camera and multiband imaging photometer. Blue represents 3.6-micron light; green shows light of 8 microns; and red is 24-micron light.
Description
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Release Date:
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2006/10/27
Release_Date
2006/10/27
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. Carey (SSC/Caltech)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Carey (SSC/Caltech)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Carey (SSC/Caltech)
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Carey (SSC/Caltech)
Image Credit
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Object name:
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IRDC G11.11-0.11
Object_name
IRDC G11.11-0.11
Object name
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Object type:
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Infrared-dark cloud
Object_type
Infrared-dark cloud
Object type
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Position (J2000):
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*RA: *18h11m0.00s *Dec: *-19d37m0.00s
Position_(J2000)
*RA: *18h11m0.00s *Dec: *-19d37m0.00s
Position (J2000)
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Distance:
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10800 light-years
Distance
10800 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 micron (blue), 8.0 micron (green), 24 micron (red)
Wavelength
3.6 micron (blue), 8.0 micron (green), 24 micron (red)
Wavelength
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Image scale:
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1.0 x 0.77 degrees
Image_scale
1.0 x 0.77 degrees
Image scale
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Observers:
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Sean Carey (SSC/ Caltech) and the MIPSGAL legacy team
Archival data from GLIMPSE legacy team (Principal Investigator: Ed Churchwell / Univ. Wisconsin)
Observers
Sean Carey (SSC/ Caltech) and the MIPSGAL legacy team
Archival data from GLIMPSE legacy team (Principal Investigator: Ed Churchwell / Univ. Wisconsin)
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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October 5 2004 (IRAC) and September 27 2005 (MIPS)
Exposure_Date
October 5 2004 (IRAC) and September 27 2005 (MIPS)
Exposure Date
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Orientation:
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Galactic North is 61 degrees counter-clockwise from up
Orientation
Galactic North is 61 degrees counter-clockwise from up
Orientation
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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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Sun
facet_what
Sun
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_where:
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Wisconsin
facet_where
Wisconsin
facet_where
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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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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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facet_when:
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October 5 2004
facet_when
October 5 2004
facet_when
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facet_when:
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September 27 2005
facet_when
September 27 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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ssc2006-20a
Image_#
ssc2006-20a
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-ssc2006-20 a
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2006-20 a
UID
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