Mapping the Infrared Universe: Part 1

Wise_wise2011-016_1024

wise_WISE2011-016 April 14th, 2011

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

This image is a map of the portion of the sky covered by the preliminary release of WISE data. WISE surveyed the entire sky in four infrared wavelengths in 2010. On April 14, 2011, the WISE team released data representing 57 percent of the sky as seen by WISE. This preliminary release will allow astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts worldwide to explore the sky as seen by WISE. It will also allow the WISE team to apply any lessons learned to the final release of the data next year that will cover the whole sky.

The sky can be thought of as a sphere that surrounds us in three dimensions. To make a map of the sky, astronomers project it into two dimensions. Various methods are used to project 3-D objects into 2-D maps, but the projection used in this image of the sky is called Aitoff, named after the geographer who invented it. It takes the 3-D sky sphere and slices open one hemisphere, and then flattens the whole thing out into an oval shape. Any projection creates distortions, so people often pick the projection type based on the where in the projection the distortions are minimal. This map is centered on the Milky Way Galaxy. The plane of the Galaxy runs along the equator, and the middle of the Galaxy is at the center of the map, where projection distortions are minimal.

The gray regions are the part of the sky not available in the preliminary WISE data release. For the regions with data, the colors used are representational: blue and cyan (blue-green) represent data from the 3.4- and 4.6-micron detectors aboard WISE, and green and red represent data from the 12- and 22-micron detectors. The blue and cyan reveals mostly light from stars, while the green and red come from mostly warm dust.

When viewing the whole sky at once in an image that fits on the typical computer screen, only the largest structures are visible, such as the band of the Milky Way itself. Nevertheless, every WISE image falls somewhere within the oval, and several regions that have appeared in WISE Featured Images are highlighted here. Clicking on the region will take you to the corresponding featured image. On the far left, in the plane of the Milky Way is the Heart and Soul nebula pair. Also, near the Heart and Soul, but beneath the plane of the Milky Way is the California nebula. Up above the plane of the Milky Way on the left is the dancing pair of galaxies, M81 and M82. The bright green nebulous area above the center of the Milky Way is the Rho Ophiuchi region. Above and to the right of Rho Ophiuchi is the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as M83. Below the center of the Milky Way Galaxy are two star clusters near and far: the Coronet Cluster and NGC 6723. On the far right, just below the plane of the Milky Way is the constellation Orion, and this weeks featured image, the Lambda Orionis Loop.

Provider: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Image Source: /image/wise/WISE2011-016

Curator: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Berkeley, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Pulic Domain

View Options

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Milky Way
Subject - Milky Way
Galaxy > Type > Spiral
Galaxy > Component > Disk
Galaxy > Component > Center/Core
Wise_wise2011-016_128
 

Position Details

Position (GAL)
RA = 24h 0m 0.0s
DEC = 0° 0’ 0.0”
Orientation
North is up
Field of View
329.5 x 165.1 degrees
Constellation
Pisces

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue WISE Infrared (Near-IR) 3.4 µm
Cyan WISE Infrared (Near-IR) 4.6 µm
Green WISE Infrared (Mid-IR) 12.0 µm
Red WISE Infrared (Mid-IR) 22.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Blue
Cyan
Green
Red
Wise_wise2011-016_1280
×
ID
WISE2011-016
Subject Category
B.5.1.1.   B.5.4.3.   B.5.4.9.  
Subject Name
Milky Way
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
Release Date
2011-04-14
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
/image/wise/WISE2011-016
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
WISE, WISE, WISE, WISE
Instrument
Color Assignment
Blue, Cyan, Green, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Near-IR, Near-IR, Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
3400, 4600, 12000, 22000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
GAL
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
360.0, 0.0
Reference Dimension
12870, 6450
Reference Pixel
6437.96875, 3221.96875
Scale
-2.56000000000000e-02, 2.56000000000000e-02
Rotation
0
Coordinate System Projection:
AIT
Quality
Position
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
URL
http://wise.astro.ucla.edu
Name
Email
outreach@ssl.berkeley.edu
Telephone
Address
7 Gauss Way
City
Berkeley
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
94720
Country
USA
Rights
Pulic Domain
Publisher
Publisher ID
wise
Resource ID
Resource URL
/image/wise/WISE2011-016
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2011-08-05
Metadata Version
1.2
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×

There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

Providers | Sign In