May 15, 2013

Space eye candy: Cool cosmic dust and a bright Orion nebula

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

This patch of sky holds some of the youngest stars ever found. The ribbon that runs through the centre of the image is made up of dust clouds in the constellation Orion, which holds one of the busiest nearby stellar nurseries.

The composite image includes both infrared light at wavelengths too long for the human eye to see (the dust clouds, shown in red/orange) and visible light. Spied by the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), which is operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, the dust clouds are just a few tens of degrees above absolute zero. But that's enough heat for the telescope to 'see' them. APEX's image of the dust clouds is layered over an image of the area in visible light.

What you can see on the image is actually just a small part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, which ESO describes as "a rich melting pot of bright nebulae, hot young stars and cold dust clouds" around 1350 light years away from us. The bright spot at the top of the image is the famous Orion Nebula, an extremely busy stellar nursery. (If you want to know what it would be like to fly through the Orion Nebula, take a look at this clip from the IMAX film Hubble 3D.)

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Speaking of space images, have you seen this tool from ESA scientist Bruno Merin? It lets you see what the same astronomical object would look like to the human eye (if we had super amazing magnification skills), and what it looks like to an infrared telescope. The best bit is that you can blend the two and really start to understand how composite astronomical images work.

Image: An APEX view of star formation in the Orion Nebula. Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American