spaceplasma:The Orion Nebula Seen in Infrared and Visible LightVISTA — the Visible and Infrared
spaceplasma: The Orion Nebula Seen in Infrared and Visible Light VISTA — the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy is the largest survey telescope in the world and is dedicated to mapping the sky at infrared wavelengths. The large (4.1-metre) mirror, wide field of view and very sensitive detectors make VISTA a unique instrument. This dramatic new image of the Orion Nebula illustrates VISTA’s remarkable powers. The Orion Nebula is a vast stellar nursery lying about 1350 light-years from Earth. Although the nebula is spectacular when seen through an ordinary telescope, what can be seen using visible light is only a small part of a cloud of gas in which stars are forming. Most of the action is deeply embedded in dust clouds and to see what is really happening astronomers need to use telescopes with detectors sensitive to the longer wavelength radiation that can penetrate the dust. VISTA has imaged the Orion Nebula at wavelengths about twice as long as can be detected by the human eye. Credit: ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA & R. Gendler -- source link
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