Bow Shocks in Space G050.35

Spitzer_sig16-001_1024

spitzer_sig16-001 January 5th, 2016

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Wyoming

Bow shocks thought to mark the paths of massive, speeding stars are highlighted in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Cosmic bow shocks occur when massive stars zip through space, pushing material ahead of them in the same way that water piles up in front of a race boat. The stars also produce high-speed winds that smack into this compressed material. The end result is pile-up of heated material that glows in infrared light. In these images, infrared light has been assigned the colored red.

Green shows wispy dust in the region and blue shows stars.

The speeding stars thought to be creating the bow shocks can be seen at the center of each arc-shaped feature. All the speeding stars are massive, ranging from about 8 to 30 times the mass of our sun.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/6137-sig16-001-Bow-Shocks-in-Space-G050

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
G050.35
Spitzer_sig16-001_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 3h 22m 0.0s
DEC = 0° 0’ 0.0”
Orientation
North is 0.1° CW
Field of View
7.0 x 7.0 arcminutes
Constellation
Cetus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 3.6 µm
Green Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 8.0 µm
Red Spitzer (MIPS) Infrared (Mid-IR) 24.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Blue
Green
Red
Spitzer_sig16-001_1280
×
ID
sig16-001
Subject Category
Subject Name
G050.35
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Wyoming
Release Date
2016-01-05
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/6137-sig16-001-Bow-Shocks-in-Space-G050
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer
Instrument
IRAC, IRAC, MIPS
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Near-IR, Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
3600, 8000, 24000
Start Time
Integration Time
1.2
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
Reference Value
50.50000000000, 0.00000000000
Reference Dimension
700.00, 700.00
Reference Pixel
-519.95572440964, 59.72796678253
Scale
-0.00016654991, 0.00016654991
Rotation
-0.08794025403
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
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
sig16-001.tif
Metadata Date
2016-01-05
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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