Setting the dark on fire
A new image from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile shows a beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in the region of Orion. While these dense interstellar clouds seem dark and obscured in visible-light observations, APEX’s LABOCA camera can detect the heat glow of the dust and reveal the hiding places where new stars are being formed. The image shows the region around the reflection nebula NGC 1999 in visible light, with the APEX observations overlaid in brilliant orange tones that seem to set the dark clouds on fire.
Credit:ESO/APEX (MPIfR/ESO/OSO)/T. Stanke et al./Digitized Sky Survey 2
About the Image
| Id: | eso1304a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 23 January 2013, 12:00 |
| Related releases: | eso1304 |
| Size: | 2115 x 2648 px |
About the Object
| Name: | NGC 1999, OMC |
| Type: | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation |
| Distance: | 1500 light years |
| Constellation: | Orion |
| Category: | Nebulae |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 5 36 24.99 |
| Position (Dec): | -6° 42' 43.19" |
| Field of view: | 35.50 x 44.45 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 0.2° right of vertical |
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical O | 440 nm | Digitized Sky Survey 2 N/A |
| Optical B | 480 nm | Digitized Sky Survey 2 N/A |
| Optical E | 650 nm | Digitized Sky Survey 2 N/A |
| Millimeter Submillimetre | 870 μm | Atacama Pathfinder Experiment |
| Optical R | 680 nm | Digitized Sky Survey 2 N/A |
| Infrared I | 800 nm | Digitized Sky Survey 2 N/A |