Baby Stars Brewing in the Witch Head Nebula

Spitzer_sig06-013_1024

spitzer_sig06-013 May 19th, 2006

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/L. Rebull (SSC/Caltech)

Eight hundred light-years away in the Orion constellation, a gigantic murky cloud called the "Witch Head Nebula" is teeming with dust-obscured newborn stars waiting to be uncovered. In this image, the super sensitive infrared eyes of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals 12 new baby stars in a small portion of the cloud commonly referred to as the Witch Head's "pointy chin."

The image is a four-color composite where blue represents 3.6 microns, green depicts 4.5 microns, yellow is 5.8 microns, and red is 8.0 microns.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2288-sig06-013-Baby-Stars-Brewing-in-the-Witch-Head-Nebula

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Public Domain

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Witch Head Nebula
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Star Formation

Distance

Universescale1
800 light years
Spitzer_sig06-013_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 7m 50.3s
DEC = -6° 21’ 31.5”
Orientation
North is 1.1° CCW
Field of View
18.4 x 15.2 arcminutes
Constellation
Eridanus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 3.6 µm
Green Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 4.5 µm
Orange Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 5.8 µm
Red Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 8.0 µm
Spectrum_base
Blue
Green
Orange
Red
Spitzer_sig06-013_1280
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ID
sig06-013
Subject Category
B.4.1.2.  
Subject Name
Witch Head Nebula
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/L. Rebull (SSC/Caltech)
Release Date
2006-05-19
Lightyears
800
Redshift
800
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2288-sig06-013-Baby-Stars-Brewing-in-the-Witch-Head-Nebula
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Distance from fast facts.
Facility
Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer
Instrument
IRAC, IRAC, IRAC, IRAC
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Orange, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Near-IR, Near-IR, Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
3600, 4500, 5800, 8000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
76.9593794408, -6.35876297559
Reference Dimension
640, 530
Reference Pixel
181.103597164, 109.291885376
Scale
-0.00047928461208012, 0.00047928461208012
Rotation
1.1120872384585
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
Public Domain
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
sig06-013.tif
Metadata Date
2012-10-11
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
800 light years

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