Visible Light View of the M17 Nebula

Spitzer_sig10-010a_1024

spitzer_sig10-010a July 7th, 2010

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/

This visible-light view of the sky highlights the bright M17 nebula, as well as the glowing hot gas filling the "bubble" to its left. While young, hot stars illuminate these regions, the large dark swath to the right hides an extensive region of star formation that can only be seen outside of the visible spectrum.

Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have seen, in infrared light, that this dark area is forming stars at a furious rate but has not yet spawned the most massive type of stars, known as O stars. Such stellar behemoths, however, light up the M17 nebula at the image's center and have also blown a huge "bubble" in the gas and dust that forms M17's luminous left edge.

This image is a composite of visible light data from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) from the UK Schmidt telescope. The image combines two observations that represent the blue and red light from the region.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/3188-sig10-010a-Visible-Light-View-of-the-M17-Nebula

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Public Domain

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Omega Nebula Swan Nebula Messier 17 M17 NGC 6618
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Star Formation
Nebula > Appearance > Emission > H II Region
Nebula > Appearance > Dark
Star > Spectral Type > O

Distance

Universescale1
6,800 light years
Spitzer_sig10-010a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 18h 20m 27.6s
DEC = -16° 5’ 8.5”
Orientation
North is 61.9° CCW
Field of View
2.5 x 1.2 degrees
Constellation
Sagittarius

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Cyan UKST Optical (B-band) 440.0 nm
Red UKST Optical (R-band) 700.0 nm
Data from DSS survey
Spectrum_base
Cyan
Red
Spitzer_sig10-010a_1280
×
ID
sig10-010a
Subject Category
B.4.1.2.   B.4.2.1.1.   B.4.2.3.   B.3.3.1.  
Subject Name
Omega Nebula, Swan Nebula, Messier 17, M17, NGC 6618
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/
Release Date
2010-07-07
Lightyears
6,800
Redshift
6,800
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/3188-sig10-010a-Visible-Light-View-of-the-M17-Nebula
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Distance is approximate to the Omega Nebula; many other features appear at varying distances
Facility
UKST, UKST
Instrument
Color Assignment
Cyan, Red
Band
Optical, Optical
Bandpass
B-band, R-band
Central Wavelength
440, 700
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
D
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
Reference Value
275.1149281578692, -16.085686090195889
Reference Dimension
7600, 3700
Reference Pixel
2816, 1072
Scale
-0.000333333, 0.000333333
Rotation
61.873238304
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
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
sig10-010a.tif
Metadata Date
2011-09-02
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
6,800 light years

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