APOD: Spitzer s Orion (2010 Apr 10)

APOD Robot · Post by **APOD Robot** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:52 am

Spitzer s Orion

Explanation: Few cosmic vistas excite the imagination like the Orion Nebula, an immense stellar nursery some 1,500 light-years away. Spanning about 40 light-years across the region, this new infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telescope was constructed from data intended to monitor the brightness of the nebula's young stars, many still surrounded by dusty, planet-forming disks. Orion's young stars are only about 1 million years old, compared to the Sun's age of 4.6 billion years. The region's hottest stars are found in the Trapezium Cluster, the brightest cluster near picture center. Spitzer's liquid helium coolant ran out in May 2009, so this false color view is from two channels that still remain sensitive to infrared light at warmer operating temperatures.

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neufer · Post by **neufer** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:59 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl wrote:
<<Much of the owls' hunting strategy depends on stealth and surprise. An owl's sharp beak and powerful talons allow it to kill its prey before swallowing it whole (unless it is too big). Scientists studying the diets of owls are helped by their habit of regurgitating the indigestible parts of their prey in the form of pellets. Henry David Thoreau summarized one perception of owls in 1854's Walden, "I rejoice that there are owls. Let them do the idiotic and maniacal hooting for men. It is a sound admirably suited to swamps and twilight woods which no day illustrates, suggesting a vast and underdeveloped nature which men have not recognized. They represent the stark twilight and unsatisfied thoughts which all have." Among the Kikuyu of Kenya it was believed that owls were harbingers of death. If one saw an owl or heard its hoot, someone was going to die. In general, owls are viewed as harbingers of bad luck, ill health, or death. The belief is widespread even today.>>

owlice · Post by **owlice** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 4:12 am

Ouch!! Harbingers of death! Bad luck! Probably get blamed for smog, too!
~~~

Source wrote:The infrared telescope ran out of coolant May 15, 2009, more than five-and-a-half-years after launch. It has since warmed to a still-frosty 30 degrees Kelvin (about minus 406 degrees Fahrenheit).

Wow!!

Source wrote:Perhaps the most revolutionary and surprising Spitzer finds involve planets around other stars, called exoplanets. In 2005, Spitzer detected the first photons of light from an exoplanet.

So very cool! What an exciting time to be living in!

mj2boogie · Post by **mj2boogie** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:26 pm

After looking at the Spitzer Orion image, I was wondering what the surrounding sky would look like from a planet around a star actually in the Orion nebula area - would it be similar to looking into our night sky, or would the proximity to this nebula make the night sky look much different to a human? Crazy question maybe, but I couldn't help but wonder...

Chris Peterson · Post by **Chris Peterson** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:03 pm

mj2boogie wrote:After looking at the Spitzer Orion image, I was wondering what the surrounding sky would look like from a planet around a star actually in the Orion nebula area - would it be similar to looking into our night sky, or would the proximity to this nebula make the night sky look much different to a human? Crazy question maybe, but I couldn't help but wonder...

It would look generally similar to our sky. Since this is a star forming region with some very new, very hot stars, you might have some impressively bright stars in the sky. And depending on where you were in or around the nebula, you might see more or less hazy structure, but will probably just see gray fuzz similar to the Milky Way.

bystander · Post by **bystander** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:05 pm

Colony of Young Stars Shines in New Spitzer Image
http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... 31&t=18931

biddie67 · Post by **biddie67** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:26 pm

Today's APOD is just wonderful - I keep coming back to look at it another time.

On the subject of owls - real ones, not the good contributor above - I live out in a forest area that has a couple different kinds of owls living in it. The great horned owls are the ones that I'm mentioning here. They dine on rabbits - to them a cat is just a rabbit with a strange kind of tail.

So at dusk, I make sure that all my cats are safely inside for the night, then I sit outside and listen to them calling back and forth through the night air. Occasionally, one flies over the yard looking for dinner - they are so big and quiet and blend so well into the night that I think of them as a "ghost" bird .....

DavidLeodis · Post by **DavidLeodis** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 5:47 pm

It's a terrific image. I will be grateful though if anyone could please tell me which is the Trapezium Cluster in the image, as I am very unsure of that. Thanks.

Case · Post by **Case** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:05 pm

DavidLeodis wrote:Which is the Trapezium Cluster in the image?

The Trapezium is marked with the red circle in the image below.

DavidLeodis · Post by **DavidLeodis** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 10:36 am

Case wrote:
DavidLeodis wrote:Which is the Trapezium Cluster in the image?
The Trapezium is marked with the red circle in the image below.

Thanks Case for your reply, which is appreciated. I would have guessed wrong which is the Trapezium Cluster.

Starship Asterisk*

APOD: Spitzer s Orion (2010 Apr 10)

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