|
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The Seven Sisters Pose for S
…
| Title |
The Seven Sisters Pose for Spitzer |
| Description |
The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored yellow, green and red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. The densest portion of the cloud appears in yellow and red, and the more diffuse outskirts are shown in green hues. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image is made up of data taken by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer and its infrared array camera. Light with a wavelength of 4.5 microns is blue, light of 8 microns is green, and light of 24 microns is red. |
|
The Seven Sisters Pose for S
…
| Title |
The Seven Sisters Pose for Spitzer |
| Description |
The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored yellow, green and red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. The densest portion of the cloud appears in yellow and red, and the more diffuse outskirts are shown in green hues. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image is made up of data taken by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer and its infrared array camera. Light with a wavelength of 4.5 microns is blue, light of 8 microns is green, and light of 24 microns is red. |
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Pink Pleiades
| Title |
Pink Pleiades |
| Description |
The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image shows infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange, light of 4.5 microns is green, and light of 3.6 microns is blue. |
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Pink Pleiades
| Title |
Pink Pleiades |
| Description |
The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image shows infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange, light of 4.5 microns is green, and light of 3.6 microns is blue. |
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Amelia Earhart
| Title |
Amelia Earhart |
| Full Description |
Amelia Earhart standing in front of the Lockheed Electra in which she disappeared in July 1937. Born in Atchison, Kansas in 1897, Amelia Earhart did not begin flying until after her move to California in 1920. After taking lessons from aviation pioneer Neta Snook in a Curtiss Jenny, Earhart set out to break flying records, breaking the women altitude records in 1922. Earhart continually promoted women in aviation and in 1928 was invited to be the first women to fly across the Atlantic. Accompanying pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon as a passenger on the Fokker Friendship, Earhart became an international celebrity after the completion of the flight. In May 1932 Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across in the Atlantic. In 1935 she completed the first solo flight from Hawaii to California. In the meantime Earhart continued to promote aviation and helped found the group, the Ninety-Nines, an organization dedicated to female aviators. On June 1, 1937, Earhart and navigator, Fred Noonan, left Miami, Florida on an around the world flight. Earhart, Noonan and their Lockheed Electra disappeared after a stop in Lae, New Guinea on June 29, 1937. Earhart had only 7,000 miles of her trip remaining when she disappeared. While a great deal of mystery surrounds the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, her contributions to aviation and womens issues have inspired people over 80 years. |
| Date |
UNKNOWN |
| NASA Center |
Headquarters |
|
Lockheed Electra - animation
…
Lockheed Electra - aerial vi
…
Lockheed Electra - takeoff f
…
Lockheed 12A Electra Junior
| Title |
Lockheed 12A Electra Junior |
| Description |
Lockheed 12A Electra Junior: Langley tried a center fin to improve the directional stability of its Lockheed 12A Electra Junior executive transport. NACA test pilot Mel Gough stands nearby. |
| Date |
02.03.1943 |
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Lockheed Electra
| Title |
Lockheed Electra |
| Description |
The Lockheed Electra shown here was of the same vintage as the Douglas DC-2, DC-3 series, but was smaller and carried only about ten passengers. Amelia Earhart was flying an Electra when she was lost in the Pacific in 1937. Circa 1936. |
| Date |
05.20.1936 |
|
Lockheed Electra - aerial vi
…
| Title |
Lockheed Electra - aerial view in flight |
| Description |
This shot shows the National Science Foundation Lockheed Electra in a climbing right-hand turn, the video clip runs 14 seconds in length. On Mar. 24, 1998, an L-188 Electra aircraft owned by the National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia, and operated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, flew near Boulder with an Airborne Coherent LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for Advanced In-flight Measurement. This aircraft was on its first flight to test its ability to detect previously invisible forms of clear air turbulence. Coherent Technologies Inc., Lafayette, Colorado, built the LiDAR device for the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. NASA Dryden participated in the effort as part of the NASA Aviation Safety Program, for which the lead center was Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Results of the test indicated that the device did successfully detect the clear air turbulence. |
| Date |
01.01.1999 |
|
Lockheed Electra - animation
…
| Title |
Lockheed Electra - animation showing air turbulence detection |
| Description |
On Mar. 24, 1998, an L-188 Electra aircraft owned by the National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia, and operated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, flew near Boulder with an Airborne Coherent LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for Advanced In-flight Measurement. This aircraft was on its first flight to test its ability to detect previously invisible forms of clear air turbulence. Coherent Technologies Inc., Lafayette, Colorado, built the LiDAR device for the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. NASA Dryden participated in the effort as part of the NASA Aviation Safety Program, for which the lead center was Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Results of the test indicated that the device did successfully detect the clear air turbulence. Computer animation of the clear air turbulence (CAT) detection system known as the "Airborne Coherent LiDAR for Advanced In-flight Measurement" was tested aboard the National Science Foundation L-188 Lockheed Electra. |
| Date |
01.01.1999 |
|
Lockheed Electra - takeoff f
…
| Title |
Lockheed Electra - takeoff from runway |
| Description |
This 15-second movie clip shows the National Science Foundation Lockheed Electra rotate, lift off, and stow its landing gear on takeoff. On March 24, 1998, an L-188 Electra aircraft owned by the National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia and operated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, flew near Boulder with an Airborne Coherent LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for Advanced In-flight Measurement. This aircraft was on its first flight to test its ability to detect previously invisible forms of clear air turbulence. Coherent Technologies Inc., Lafayette, Colorado, built the LiDAR device for the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. NASA Dryden participated in this effort as part of the NASA Aviation Safety Program, for which the lead center was Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Results of the test indicated that the device did successfully detect the clear air turbulence. |
| Date |
01.01.1999 |
|
The Lockheed 12A Electra Jun
…
| Title |
The Lockheed 12A Electra Junior |
| Description |
The Lockheed 12A Electra Junior was delivered from the factory had only the fins mounted at the tips of the horizontal tail. Langley tried a center fin to improve the directional stability of its Lockheed 12A Electra Junior executive transport in June 1940. The Electra Junior was also equipped with wing de-icing using engine exhaust. The latter modification resulted in "NACA 97" becoming one of the first aircraft assigned to the newly-opened Ames Aeronautical Laboratory in California. The center fin was removed at the time the aircraft was sold in order to comply with the approved type of certificate for the aircraft. |
| Date |
06.10.1940 |
|
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
…
| title |
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Adjusts Angle of Orbit |
| Description |
This artist's concept of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter features the spacecraft's main bus facing down, toward the red planet. The large silver circular feature above the spacecraft bus is the high-gain antenna, the spacecraft's main means of communicating with Earth. The long, thin pole behind the bus is the antenna for the Shallow Subsurface Radar instrument (SHARAD). Seeking liquid or frozen water, this instrument will probe the subsurface using radar waves at frequencies of 15 to 25 megahertz, "seeing" in the first few hundred feet (up to 1 kilometer) of Mars' crust. The large instrument covered in black thermal blanketing in the center is the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera (HiRISE). It will provide the highest-resolution images ever taken from Mars orbit. The Electra telecommunications package is the gold-colored instrument directly left of the high-resolution camera. It will act as a communications relay and navigation aid for Mars spacecraft. To the right of the high-resolution camera is the Context Imager (CTX). Credit: NASA/JPL |
|
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbi
…
| title |
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter |
| Description |
This artist's concept of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter features the spacecraft's main bus facing down, toward the red planet. The large silver circular feature above the spacecraft bus is the high-gain antenna, the spacecraft's main means of communicating with both Earth and other spacecraft. The long, thin pole behind the bus is the SHARAD antenna. Seeking liquid or frozen water, SHARAD will probe the subsurface using radar waves at a 15-25 MHz frequency band, "seeing" in the first few hundreds of feet (up to 1 kilometer) of Mars' crust. The large instrument (covered in black thermal blanketing) in the center is the HiRISE camera. This powerful camera will provide the highest-resolution images from orbit to date. The other easily visible instruments are: the Electra telecommunications package which is the gold-colored instrument directly left of the HiRISE camera. It will act as a communications relay and navigation aid for Mars spacecraft. To the right of the HiRISE camera is the Context Imager (CTX). |
|
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,
…
PIA07245
| Title |
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Front View (Artist's Concept) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This artist's concept of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter features the spacecraft's main bus facing down, toward the red planet. The large silver circular feature above the spacecraft bus is the high-gain antenna, the spacecraft's main means of communicating with Earth. The long, thin pole behind the bus is the antenna for the Shallow Subsurface Radar instrument (SHARAD). Seeking liquid or frozen water, this instrument will probe the subsurface using radar waves at frequencies of 15 to 25 megahertz, "seeing" in the first few hundred feet (up to 1 kilometer) of Mars' crust. The large instrument covered in black thermal blanketing in the center is the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera (HiRISE). It will provide the highest-resolution images ever taken from Mars orbit. The Electra telecommunications package is the gold-colored instrument directly left of the high-resolution camera. It will act as a communications relay and navigation aid for Mars spacecraft. To the right of the high-resolution camera is the Context Imager (CTX). |
|
The Seven Sisters Pose for S
…
PIA09263
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
…
| Title |
The Seven Sisters Pose for Spitzer |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored yellow, green and red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. The densest portion of the cloud appears in yellow and red, and the more diffuse outskirts are shown in green hues. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image is made up of data taken by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer and its infrared array camera. Light with a wavelength of 4.5 microns is blue, light of 8 microns is green, and light of 24 microns is red. Venus and Pleiades Mingle in the Sky The sky chart in figure 1, illustrates the Venus-Pleiades encounter that reached its closest approach on April 11, 2007. The Pleiades are a tight gem-like cluster of stars that resemble a tiny dipper (but should not be confused with the Little Dipper constellation). If you look west shortly after sunset, Venus will be the brightest object in the sky. If the skies are clear and dark, you'll also see the Pleiades twinkling above Venus. On April 19, the moon will join the party, sliding between Venus and the Pleiades. Viewers in the northern and southern hemispheres will be able to witness the event. |
|
The Seven Sisters Pose for S
…
PIA09263
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
…
| Title |
The Seven Sisters Pose for Spitzer |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored yellow, green and red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. The densest portion of the cloud appears in yellow and red, and the more diffuse outskirts are shown in green hues. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image is made up of data taken by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer and its infrared array camera. Light with a wavelength of 4.5 microns is blue, light of 8 microns is green, and light of 24 microns is red. Venus and Pleiades Mingle in the Sky The sky chart in figure 1, illustrates the Venus-Pleiades encounter that reached its closest approach on April 11, 2007. The Pleiades are a tight gem-like cluster of stars that resemble a tiny dipper (but should not be confused with the Little Dipper constellation). If you look west shortly after sunset, Venus will be the brightest object in the sky. If the skies are clear and dark, you'll also see the Pleiades twinkling above Venus. On April 19, the moon will join the party, sliding between Venus and the Pleiades. Viewers in the northern and southern hemispheres will be able to witness the event. |
|
The Seven Sisters Pose for S
…
PIA09263
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
…
| Title |
The Seven Sisters Pose for Spitzer |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored yellow, green and red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. The densest portion of the cloud appears in yellow and red, and the more diffuse outskirts are shown in green hues. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image is made up of data taken by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer and its infrared array camera. Light with a wavelength of 4.5 microns is blue, light of 8 microns is green, and light of 24 microns is red. Venus and Pleiades Mingle in the Sky The sky chart in figure 1, illustrates the Venus-Pleiades encounter that reached its closest approach on April 11, 2007. The Pleiades are a tight gem-like cluster of stars that resemble a tiny dipper (but should not be confused with the Little Dipper constellation). If you look west shortly after sunset, Venus will be the brightest object in the sky. If the skies are clear and dark, you'll also see the Pleiades twinkling above Venus. On April 19, the moon will join the party, sliding between Venus and the Pleiades. Viewers in the northern and southern hemispheres will be able to witness the event. |
|
Pink Pleiades
PIA09262
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
| Title |
Pink Pleiades |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Venus and Pleiades Mingle in the Sky Diagram The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image shows infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange, light of 4.5 microns is green, and light of 3.6 microns is blue. Venus and Pleiades Mingle in the Sky The sky chart in figure 1, illustrates the Venus-Pleiades encounter that reached its closest approach on April 11, 2007. The Pleiades are a tight gem-like cluster of stars that resemble a tiny dipper (but should not be confused with the Little Dipper constellation). If you look west shortly after sunset, Venus will be the brightest object in the sky. If the skies are clear and dark, you'll also see the Pleiades twinkling above Venus. On April 19, the moon will join the party, sliding between Venus and the Pleiades. Viewers in the northern and southern hemispheres will be able to witness the event. |
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