Cepheus C and Cepheus B (IRAC)

Spitzer_ssc2019-08c_1024

spitzer_ssc2019-08c May 31st, 2019

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

This image shows data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, from the IRAC instrument, with colors corresponding to wavelengths of 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 m (shown as blue, green, orange and red).

The grand red delta filling most of the image is a far-away nebula, or a cloud of gas and dust. A second nebula is located in the lower right portion of the image.

Within the first nebula, on the left side of this image, a dark filament runs horizontally through the green cloud. A smattering of baby stars (the red and yellow dots) appear inside it. Known as Cepheus C, the area is a particularly dense concentration of gas and dust where infant stars form. This region is called Cepheus C because it lies in the constellation Cepheus, which can be found near the constellation Cassiopeia. Cepheus-C is about 6 light years long, and lies about 40 light-years from the bright spot at the tip of the nebula.

Two features identified in the annotated image are visible only in the multi-instrument version of the image. The first is V374 Ceph in the larger nebula. The second is the "runaway star" in the smaller nebula.

A second star cluster is located just above the second large nebula on the right side of the image. Known as Cepheus B, the cluster sits within a few thousand light-years of our Sun. A study of this region using Spitzer found that the dramatic collection is about 4 million to 5 million years old ?? slightly older than those in Cepheus C.

Also found in the second nebula is a small cluster of newborn stars that illuminates the dense cloud of gas and dust where they formed. It appears as a bright teal splash.

In 2017 and 2016, high school students and teachers contributed to our understanding of the Cepheus C star-forming region. As part of NITARP (NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program), the students and teachers combed through Spitzer data to identify the presence of young stellar objects. Over two years, the students and teachers identified more than 100 such objects that hadn't been identified in previous studies. Astronomer Luisa Rebull of IPAC at Caltech guided the students and teachers. Educators interested in participating in NITARP should visit the program website.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech in Pasadena. Space operations are based at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive housed at IPAC at Caltech. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/6618-ssc2019-08c-Cepheus-C-and-Cepheus-B-IRAC-

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

View Options

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Cepheus B Cepheus C V374 Ceph
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Star Formation
Nebula > Appearance > Dark
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Protostar
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Young Stellar Object
Star > Grouping > Cluster

Distance

Universescale1
2,400 light years
Spitzer_ssc2019-08c_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 23h 1m 37.9s
DEC = 62° 22’ 17.0”
Orientation
North is 4.1° CCW
Field of View
2.4 x 1.0 degrees
Constellation
Cepheus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 3.6 µm
Green Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 4.5 µm
Red Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 8.0 µm
Spectrum_base
Blue
Green
Red
Spitzer_ssc2019-08c_1280
×
ID
ssc2019-08c
Subject Category
B.4.1.2   B.4.2.3   B.3.1.1   B.3.1.2   B.3.6.4  
Subject Name
Cepheus B, Cepheus C, V374 Ceph
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Release Date
2019-05-31
Lightyears
2,400
Redshift
2,400
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/6618-ssc2019-08c-Cepheus-C-and-Cepheus-B-IRAC-
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer
Instrument
IRAC, IRAC, IRAC
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Near-IR, Near-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
3600, 4500, 8000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
Reference Value
345.40787925340669, 62.371388995407429
Reference Dimension
14391, 6232
Reference Pixel
7195.5, 3116
Scale
-1.66670000000000e-04, 1.66670000000000e-04
Rotation
4.131000
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
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
ssc2019-08c.tif
Metadata Date
2019-05-30
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
2,400 light years

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