File:Dark Globule in IC 1396, Infrared Image.jpg
Original file (1,500 × 1,200 pixels, file size: 1.5 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
Summary
[edit]DescriptionDark Globule in IC 1396, Infrared Image.jpg |
English: NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope image of a glowing stellar nursery provides a spectacular contrast to the opaque cloud seen in visible light. The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is an elongated dark globule within the emission nebula IC 1396 in the constellation of Cepheus. Located at a distance of 2,450 light-years, the globule is a condensation of dense gas that is barely surviving the strong ionizing radiation from a nearby massive star. The globule is being compressed by the surrounding ionized gas. The dark globule is seen in silhouette at visible-light wavelengths, backlit by the illumination of a bright star located to the left of the field of view.
The Spitzer Space Telescope pierces through the obscuration to reveal the birth of new protostars, or embryonic stars, and previously unseen young stars. The infrared image, which transforms the dark cloud into a 'flying dragon,' was obtained by Spitzer's infrared array camera. The image is a four-color composite of invisible light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8.0 microns (red). The filamentary appearance of the globule results from the sculpting effects of competing physical processes. The winds from a massive star, located to the left of the image, produce a dense circular rim comprising the 'head' of the globule and a swept-back tail of gas. A pair of young stars (LkHa 349 and LkHa 349c) that formed from the dense gas has cleared a spherical cavity within the globule head. While one of these stars is significantly fainter than the other in the visible-light image, they are of comparable brightness in the infrared Spitzer image. This implies the presence of a thick and dusty disc around LkHa 349c. Such circumstellar discs are the precursors of planetary systems. They are much thicker in the early stages of stellar formation when the placental planet-forming material (gas and dust) is still present. |
Date | |
Source | http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1052-ssc2003-06a-Dark-Globule-in-IC-1396 |
Author | NASA/JPL-Caltech/W. Reach (SSC/Caltech) |
Permission (Reusing this file) |
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy |
Licensing
[edit]Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
Warnings:
|
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 20:43, 21 June 2011 | 1,500 × 1,200 (1.5 MB) | Spitzersteph (talk | contribs) |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
The following page uses this file:
- File:Ssc2003-06a.jpg (file redirect)
File usage on other wikis
The following other wikis use this file:
- Usage on de.wikipedia.org
Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
Image title | NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope image of a glowing stellar nursery provides a spectacular contrast to the opaque cloud seen in visible light. The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is an elongated dark globule within the emission nebula IC 1396 in the constellation of Cepheus. Located at a distance of 2,450 light-years, the globule is a condensation of dense gas that is barely surviving the strong ionizing radiation from a nearby massive star. The globule is being compressed by the surrounding ionized gas. The dark globule is seen in silhouette at visible-light wavelengths, backlit by the illumination of a bright star located to the left of the field of view.
The Spitzer Space Telescope pierces through the obscuration to reveal the birth of new protostars, or embryonic stars, and previously unseen young stars. The infrared image, which transforms the dark cloud into a 'flying dragon,' was obtained by Spitzer's infrared array camera. The image is a four-color composite of invisible light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8.0 microns (red). The filamentary appearance of the globule results from the sculpting effects of competing physical processes. The winds from a massive star, located to the left of the image, produce a dense circular rim comprising the 'head' of the globule and a swept-back tail of gas. A pair of young stars (LkHa 349 and LkHa 349c) that formed from the dense gas has cleared a spherical cavity within the globule head. While one of these stars is significantly fainter than the other in the visible-light image, they are of comparable brightness in the infrared Spitzer image. This implies the presence of a thick and dusty disc around LkHa 349c. Such circumstellar discs are the precursors of planetary systems. They are much thicker in the early stages of stellar formation when the placental planet-forming material (gas and dust) is still present. |
---|---|
Author | Spitzer Space Telescope |
Copyright holder | http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/mediaimages/copyright.shtml |
Width | 1,500 px |
Height | 1,200 px |
Compression scheme | LZW |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Horizontal resolution | 300 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 300 dpi |
Data arrangement | chunky format |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh |
File change date and time | 14:38, 5 June 2009 |
Color space | Uncalibrated |