the-actual-universe:Setting the Dark on FireThis image made by the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (AP
the-actual-universe:Setting the Dark on FireThis image made by the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile shows the region of Orion, where clouds of cosmic dust exist. When visible-light observations are made, these clouds won’t really show their true nature, but with APEX’s LABOCA camera scientists are able to detect the heat glow of the dust and show where new stars are born. One of those clouds is different though.The Orion Molecular Cloud complex is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth (at 1500 light-years away), and it is abundant with young stars, bright nebulae and dark clouds. The image shows part of the vast complex in visible light, with APEX observations overlaid in bright orange color.The area shown in the image is located roughly two degrees south of the Orion Nebula (Messier 42). The APEX telescope is located on the Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes and is the largest single-dish submillimetre-wavelength telescope in the southern hemisphere.RFBRead moreImage credit: ESO / APEX LABOCA -- source link