July 4, 2013

VISTA's infrared view of the Orion Nebula


This wide-field view of the Orion Nebula (Messier 42), lying about 1350 light-years from Earth, was taken with the VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. The new telescope’s huge field of view allows the whole nebula and its surroundings to be imaged in a single picture and its infrared vision also means that it can peer deep into the normally hidden dusty regions and reveal the curious antics of the very active young stars buried there. This image was created from images taken throughZ, J and Ks filters in the near-infrared part of the spectrum. The exposure times were ten minutes per filter. The image covers a region of sky about one degree by 1.5 degrees.

Image Credit: ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA./Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
Explanation from: http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1006a/

No comments:

Add your comment