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L. Rebull / Caltech / JPL / NASA
Four views of the North American Nebula show how different wavelengths provide different perspectives on astronomical objects. The visible-light view at upper left highlights the nebula's similarity to the continent. The red region to the right is known as the "Pelican Nebula" due to its birdlike appearance. The upper-right view includes both visible and infrared observations. In the two lower views, only the infrared readings from Spitzer are displayed. Click on the image to download larger versions.
North America has been thoroughly explored, but the North America Nebula is a different matter entirely. Fresh infrared images of the continent-shaped star-forming region, lying in the constellation Cygnus, reveal thousands of stars that can't be seen in visible light. The new pictures come from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, whose infrared-sensitive cameras are designed to cut through interstellar dust and spot the glittering prizes within.
Previously, only about 200 stars could be seen — but the new observations, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, add more than 2,000 candidate stars to the list.
You can see how the North America Nebula (or is that the North American Nebula?) got its name by looking at the visible-light view in the upper-left quadrant of the image above. The relatively bright area toward the left is reminiscent of the eastern United States and Mexico. The dark, central knots of cosmic dust stand in for the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. There's a reddish swirl of dust on the right side of the picture that is known as the Pelican Nebula, again because of its shape. Can you see the pelican's long beak?
All these features seem to disappear in the Spitzer views at lower left and right, because the space telescope's cameras can cut through the dark areas of the "Gulf of Mexico" dust cloud. Different colors stand for different wavelengths of infrared light detected by Spitzer's infrared array camera and multiband imaging photometer. This "Hidden Universe" video guides you through the imagery:
"One of the things that makes me so excited about this image is how different it is from the visible image, and how much more we can see in the infrared than in the visible," the study's lead author, Luisa Rebull of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology, said today in an image advisory. "The Spitzer image reveals a wealth of detail about the dust and the young stars here."
There are a few mysteries left to solve. For example, astronomers aren't sure exactly how far away the nebula is, for example. Further observations from Spitzer could refine the current estimate of 1,800 light-years. Another puzzler has to do with the nebula's power source. There should be some massive stars that dominate the nebula and drive the formation of later generations of stars, but not even Spitzer was able to find them. The clues so far suggest that the bright stars are still hidden behind the central "Gulf of Mexico" clouds.
More examples of infrared imagery:
- See the turmoil in Jupiter's belt
- A galaxy fit for Superman
- Scientists unwrap a stellar surprise
- Hubble spots farthest galaxy ... again
- A star's shocking transformation
- NASA shares new views of galaxies
- Andromeda's once and future stars
- Spiral galaxies stripped bare!
Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page or following @b0yle on Twitter. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," Alan's book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Leave a Comment:
"Spitzer - the OTHER Space Telescope"
NASA is a huge waste of taxpayer money in a economy like this, a bunch of satellites taking pretty pictures isn't fooling anyone, with all the taxpayer funding that's went into NASA in the past fifteen years, humans should be playing tennis on the Pluto.
are you retarded?
When you cut government spending, you cut jobs.
When you cut jobs, you hurt the economy.
When the economy gets bad, corporations cut people, this reduces taxes and hurts the economy, governments cut people, more tax and economic reduction ensues.
Our economic boom was based on our industrial might for 20 or30 years after WW2 and then by easy credit. Our economy is so flimsy.
This doesn't have much to to with NASA spending, but cutting NASA will not do much good.
The public sector is responsible for more jobs than the government. By the way, how do you think the government gets it's money to pay for jobs? From YOUR taxes. If people pay less tax, they spend more in the private sector creating more jobs. Also, less regulation, less paperwork, more jobs. The current administration has choked the economy by creating mounds more regulation. Whole days are spent complying with that regulation. You have to pay a person just to account for regulation. Also, if the healthcare mandate was so great, why did so many companies and unions get a pass on implementing it? Understand?
try not to get emotional, go take your acid and watch a laser light show
Unfortunately, DC is right... To a certain extent. We should be on Mars at least by now. There should be a fully manned outpost on the Lunar surface, and we ought to be making plans to begin one on the red planet. Instead, we have had Presidents with no vision, poor leaders at NASA, and an incredibly wasteful bureaucracy throwing good money right after bad with things like Ares and other programs. Build a simple launcher like the old National Launch System vehicle, make it flexible and adaptable, and we can begin to do these things that are still only in the realm of science fiction.
"10mi. from d.c
NASA is a huge waste of taxpayer money in a economy like this, a bunch of satellites taking pretty pictures isn't fooling anyone, with all the taxpayer funding that's went into NASA in the past fifteen years, humans should be playing tennis on the Pluto."
So, all the tax dollars spent on this went, nowhere? Wrong. The money went to hard-working Americans, who then spent it on food, cars, houses, etc., etc., thus actually stimulating the economy.
jasonwilczak - The answer to your question is.....wait for it......YES.
I applaud the lawmakers for slashing the nasa budget a while back. there's accountability there. if any can say nasa is worth their taxdollars, that's retarded lol
Most of the things you take for granted today are a direct result of Nasa and space exploration. Its people like you with limited views of what is possible and what is essential that will be the demise of the human species.
Here is a site to start with some education http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html You should take some time to do some research on the subject. Nasa's budget is pathetic compared to all the waste in govt thru fraud, abuste, waste ect. Use your energy and focus on those thing rather then something that is vital for our future survival as a species.
here's a fun fact, (notreally) the space cadets were spending, drumroll.....!!!!!300 Million per month!!!!!
I call BS on this. Where did you get that figure? I highly doubt NASA spends nearly 20% of its annual budget on 'space cadets'. In fact (and this is an actual fact), nothing listed in their budget even suggests they come close to it.
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/428837main_NASA_FY_2011_Congressional_Justificaton_Budget_Book_Rev-01_BOOKMARKED.pdf
there's no fun to that fact
there's no doubt what nasa does is great, I'm just saying there should be more accountability
"I'm just saying there should be more accountability"
Now there is the honest truth, in fact our Govt should have More accountability, not just NASA, There is far too much waste, I bet that if we had cut all the waste/fraud from the last 5 years in govt and gave that to NASA not only would we have a moon base already but we would have people on the way to mars if not more.