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The sparkles of hidden stars are revealed in a picture of the Orion Nebula that shows off the colors of the infrared rainbow.
Do you see those twinkling lights, strung along a line that starts at the top right corner of the image? Those are stars in the earliest stages of their evolution, swathed in clouds of gas and dust. Astronomers focused on those protostars with the infrared-sensitive cameras of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's Herschel space telescope.
This color-coded image shows the scene as observed by Spitzer in one set of infrared wavelengths (8.0 and 24 microns, shown here in shades of blue), and by Herschel in somewhat longer wavelengths (70 and 160 microns, shown in green and red, respectively). Herschel monitored the emissions from cold dust particles once a week for six weeks, while Spitzer kept track of the emissions from the warmer dust, filling out the infrared rainbow.
Astronomers found that the stars' brightness in infrared wavelengths varied by more than 20 percent during the observational time frame. That's surprising, because the astronomers expected variations in brightness to play out over a time frame measured in years or even centuries rather than weeks.
What could cause the short-term twinkling? The astronomers theorized that lumpy filaments of gas might be streaming inward from a star's outer environs, temporarily warming up the dusty disk of material surrounding the star. An alternative hypothesis would be that material occasionally piles up on the inner edge of the disk, casting 'shadows" that temporarily darken the outer disk. In any case, the observations from Herschel and Spitzer show that the birth process for baby stars is a rough-and-tumble affair, with significant ups and downs.
Members of the Herschel science team, led by Nicolas Billot, an astronomer at the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique in Grenada, Spain, are preparing a paper about their findings.
"Herschel's exquisite sensitivity opens up new possibilities for astronomers to study star formation, and we are very excited to have witnessed short-term variability in Orion protostars," Billot said today in a photo advisory. "Follow-up observations with Herschel will help us identify the physical processes responsible for the variability."
More infrared wonders:
- VISTA takes a fresh look at Helix Nebula's golden eye
- 'Pillars of Creation' reloaded in infrared and X-rays
- Our galaxy's mysterious twist
- Greatest hits from Herschel
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.
Leave a Comment:
Good work. So what are baby stars called when they are so big?
jesus...
Big stars. Stars are made from planets. The heat and light from stars is not from hydrogen fusion, it's from crushing of the atoms. If you squeeze a proton, it comes apart into photon particles. How do I know ? I've done it in my lab here in Central Florida. The photons (light) from stars condenses back into atoms...This is the formula mc^2 = E. It's a continuous cycle and the reason why all of the stars didn't go out a long time ago. It's also why all of the "matter" hasn't been consumed....Alfie-
I thought it was just dark matter converting back and forth to the observable.
Al,
What you're saying, is a pseudoscientific babble.
Al... have you been taking hits off the nitros tank again?
Al - No. Just no.
A star is born from pressure, that's true. But it IS fusion that makes it a star. The pressure builds as the protostar aggregates dust and gas. At a certain point, the normally repulsive hydrogen atoms collide, even though they don't wanna. The result is helium...and one photon of light.
Least that's how it happens in OUR sun. The "star" isn't a star until it reaches the point of ignition, where the fusion becomes a self sustaining reaction which continues until the fuel is consumed. Then, it becomes a red giant and ultimately collapses into a white dwarf.
And that is how the Science channel 'splains it.
Be talkin' to you..........................Webrydr
@Al ....
That is the biggest bunch of nonsense I've read in a while. To say that your post has "no value" would be overly kind.
In reality, this image only exists through a combination of several photographs taken with cameras that do not see in the same light as our eyes. Furthermore, a photo as this would not exist without advanced computers processing and combining the images. Is a great image though. :-)
However, when looking through a great quality large telescope, the Orion Nebula is stunning on it's own.
And many people don't realize that; they would expect that if they had a big enough backyard telescope, M42 would look just like this. ;-D
It's a shame our vision (the visible portion of the spectrum) is so limited, isn't it?
Correct - this image is color coded to bring out the various elements - Hydrogen, nitrogen, etc. The actual Orion Nebula is not nearly this colorful. Stunning imagery, though.
Billie.....Feisty the Redhead (Blond convert) is gonna get mad at you for using "her" personal button for a picture.
But that is OK.....just stir the Cheeecago pot some.
IN THE NAME OF MY FATHER GOD king of the universe in heaven thru JESUS CHRIST, a lot of people in the world never see what is in the sky ORION NEBULA REVEALS AN INFRARED RAINBOW only they see is "STAR" & "RAIBOW" ? but , is not what is see in this picture ? if you open your eyes very careful people in the world & scienties "O really" , if you facing to your monitor , in the top right view in the picture above the star is the ANGEL "LUCIFER IMAGES" of BARRACK OBAMA & thier people "RACIAL BLACK PEOPLE" it was so very mad to the ANGEL of my FATHER GOD king of the universe in heaven, now go to right side where all STAR light toward in right you will see the face or image of ANGEL OR IT MY BE THE FATHER GOD . they put this LIGHTNING STAR & RAINBOW to block the "LUCIFER" this is what I sow in this picture. the image of "LUCIFER" in the right side above the STAR LIGHTNING & ANGEL or FATHER GOD king of the universe in heaven IMAGES BUT THEY HAVE A "WING".
SIMPLICIO = to make something less complicated or easier to understand. Why I am even answering this?
In the top left i see a picture of a pig flyng out of your ass...
thank you for starting my day off with a rofl
Thank you for starting my day off with a rofl
You might want to adjust your tinfoil hat. I think some of the cosmic rays are leaking through again.
Is Simplicio (aptly named, by the way) having a breakdown?!? :-o
It's amazing how some people can drag politics and religion (and INSANITY) into ANY story....
Why are so many people mad? (take the word as you will).
I guess being sane and happy is too boring
Beautiful!!
It kind of makes one wish our vision wasn't limited to the visible light-only portion of the spectrum, doesn't it? It's as though our unaided eyes see the universe through a keyhole. Whenever I see Orion's nebula (M42) through my admittedly limited telescope, it's usually just an interesting greenish smudge with a few brilliant bluish stars in it.
Spitzer and Hubble are, IMO, two of the greatest accomplishments of the space age as they're rapidly rewriting all the astronomy texts I grew up reading. It's an exciting time to be an astronomy geek!
Grrr, what a waste of money! Do you know how much money was spent so a picture like this could be taken? We need to focus on Earthly problems first! That money would have been SO MUCH better spent on campaign commercials or building a bomb that can kill people more efficiently!
Yeah, that's exactly how stupid and small-minded everyone sounds who complains about money spent on research like this.
More than 629,698?
Vote republican :)
What exactly are you looking for? LOOK at the pretty picture's? Turn the crap around and look at sub - Saharan Africa, at the starving children, the picture's won't wont be as pretty , what's your salary for such in significant foo.
Charlie Sheen's 2011 cocaine budget was probably twenty times what any astrophysicist or astronomer gets paid, and you're going to complain about the money spent on this kind of research?
jrtaylor~
What are we looking for? Oh, not much... just the answers to some of the greatest questions about the origins and fate of the stars that power our planet and our universe.
When science and education are devalued? It effects the whole of humanity. And in a nation of ever-increasing anti-intellectualism? We really need to learn to value and cherish new knowledge and scientific insight now more than ever... before small-minded, short-sighted people put the spark of human curiosity out for good one day.
Too bad it will be 1000's of years before all is said and done in the Orion complex and all that is left is a "new" star cluster. Stars don't form over night. It takes at least 10's of 1000's, if not 100's of thousands of years for stars to fully form. They should say what region of the complex it is and what star is illuminating the gas in the trapezium.
Awesome!!!
One can only be inspired by wittnessing god in action, truely a beautiful moment in my existance in this one life. Creation in it's purity. Where can I buy a poster of this image? Any info would be greatly welcome by many i'm shure. LOVE IT !!!
Can I have one? I want to redecorate my bedroom.