Ratings of baby stars shrouded by dust are exposed in this infrared image of the star-forming area NGC 2174, as seen by NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. Thats because different clouds are highlighted in infrared and visible-light images.
The warm dust shines brilliantly at infrared wavelengths.
NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope picture of the star-forming region NGC 2174. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Ratings of infant stars shrouded by dust are revealed in this infrared picture of the star-forming area NGC 2174, as seen by NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. Some of the clouds in the area look like the face of a monkey in visible-light images, hence the nebulas label: the “Monkey Head.” In infrared images such as this, the monkey vanishes. Thats because various clouds are highlighted in infrared and visible-light images.
Discovered in the northern reaches of the constellation Orion, NGC 2174 lies around 6,400 light-years away. Columns of dust, slightly to the right of center in the image, are being sculpted out of the dust by radiation and stellar winds from the hottest young stars recently born in the location.
The warm dust shines brilliantly at infrared wavelengths. Ultimately, these stars will pop out of their dusty envelopes and their light will sculpt away at the dust clouds surrounding them.
In this image initially published in 2015, infrared wavelengths have been appointed visible colors we see with our eyes. Light with a wavelength of 3.5 microns is revealed in blue, 8.0 microns is green, and 24 microns in red. The greens reveal the natural molecules in the dust clouds, lit up by starlight. Reds are triggered by the thermal radiation released from the very hottest locations of dust.
Areas around the edges that were not observed by Spitzer have actually been filled in utilizing infrared observations from NASAs Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.
By NASA
January 18, 2022
