View allAll Photos Tagged RhoOphiuchi
This is a composite image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope. Pictured is Rho Ophiuchi, at a distance of about 390 light-years from Earth. Rho Ophiuchi is a cloud complex filled with gas and stars of different sizes and ages. Being one of the closest star-forming regions, Rho Ophiuchi is a great place for astronomers to study young stars. In this image, X-rays from Chandra are purple and reveal the hot, outer atmospheres of infant stars. Infrared data from Webb's NIRCam is red, yellow, cyan, light blue, and darker blue and provides views of the spectacular regions of gas and dust.
Read more: chandra.si.edu/photo/2024/chandrawebb3/
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/C. Canizares; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/K. Pontoppidan; Image Processing: NASA/ESA/STScI/Alyssa Pagan, NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and J. Major
Image description: The murky green and gold cloud resembles a ghostly head in profile, swooping down from the upper left, trailing tendrils of hair. Cutting across the bottom edge and lower righthand corner of the image is a long, narrow, brick red cloud which resembles the ember of a stick pulled from a fire. Several large white stars dot the image. Many are surrounded by glowing neon purple rings, and gleam with diffraction spikes.
During my vacation on Menorca I was trying to capture Rho Ophiuchi with good dark sky conditions looking to the south at Cala Mitjana.
The shot was taken with my brand new SEL85F18 on the Sony A6000 @f2.8 ISO800 120sec x 25 (tracked with iOptron SkyTracker Pro), stacked in DSS and then processed in PS.
The colorful clouds of Rho Ophiuchi. Image made with William Optics Megrez 90 telescope and Canon 5D mkII camera. 3 hours total exposure time.
Antares and the Rho Oph region
(labeled large mosaic)
Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello
The Ophiuchus Molecular Cloud Complex is a nearby region of low-mass star formation in the Gould Belt. In reality this is a generic name to indicate a certain number of substructures located at different distances and not necessarily connected.
The complex includes two dense clouds, LDN1688 and 1689, located at the ends of large-scale filaments extending in a northeasterly direction (Loren et al. 1990).
More strictly, the dense dark cloud LDN1688, 134 pcs away, is called the Ophiuchus Molecular Cloud. LDN1689 is instead found at 144 pc based on Gaia DR2 measurements (Ortiz-Leon et al. 2018).
The stellar content of the Ophiuchus star-forming complex has long been studied, revealing a rich environment of young stellar objects (YSOs), protostellar sources and prestellar cores at various evolutionary stages. While LDN1688 hosts dense star formation activity, L1689 is more quiescent (Nutter et al. 2006). Despite its significant mass, L1689 does not exhibit the same star formation activity as other regions of the Gould Belt, such as M16.
The entire Ophiuchus complex is under the strong influence and feedback of the Sco OB2 association.
Antares (α Scorpii) is a red supergiant about 170 pc (550 light years) away, therefore it is placed prospectively behind the molecular complex. Nonetheless, it is shrouded in a large reflection nebula that diffuses its light. The yellower color of this nebula is not a calibration error but an effect due to scattering which tends to shift the peak of light to shorter wavelengths. The star is a double view. Antares B is a sequence and mag 5.5 star of spectral type B2.5V (Evans 1966).
The two globular clusters are much more distant. M4 is about 2.2 kpc (7500 light years) away while NGC 6144 is even 8.1 kpc 8 (about 32,000 light years).
Rho Ophiuchi Cloud complex shot from Algeria (Djelfa region) last April. 211 images of 20'' each shot with a Sony A7s and a Samyang 135mm F2 lens. This is my second attempt on this object (one of my favorites in the night sky if not my favorite). I know there will be a 3rd one :)
Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments, and its multiband imaging photometer, best for detecting cooler.
materials. Blue represents 3.6-micron light; green shows light of 8 microns; and red is 24-micron light. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as red in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue.
The Rho Ophiuchi region as seen in the pre-dawn hours of 4/18/21. A two panel mosaic shot with a Nikon D750 & Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 lens. Each panel consisted of 25 x 30" exposures shot at f/2.5 & ISO 1600.
Den Pfeifennebel und die farbenprächtige Region nahe dem hellen Stern Antares verbindet eine dunkle Wolke, die Dunkler Fluss genannt wird. Antares, ein roter Riesenstern, der von Staub umgeben ist, erzeugt einen ungewöhnlichen hellen, gelblichen Reflexionsnebel. Über diesem ist der helle blaue Doppelstern Rho Ophiuchi in einen der typischeren bläulichen Reflexionsnebel eingebettet. Der Kugelsternhaufen M4 ist rechts über Antares zu sehen. Canon 500Da mit EF 2,0/135mmL. 24x180s bei f2,8/ISO800. Aufnahmeort: La Palma
Another Rho Ophiuchi attempt from Menorca, this time from Playa Binigaus. That bright thingie in the middle is Saturn.
The shot was taken with my SEL35F18 on the Sony A6000 @f3.2 ISO800 240sec x 6 (tracked with iOptron SkyTracker Pro), stacked in DSS and then processed in PS. Actually I did take even more shots stopped down to f4 @ISO1250 to reduce the massive tangential astigmatism (also see www.lonelyspeck.com/a-practical-guide-to-lens-aberrations... what that means) I had before (very disappointing for this "quality" lens) but the color noise then was way to much (and I did not want to expose any longer for lower ISO as there was already some wind from time to time at the beach that would likely ruin those shots).
Canon 1100d fullspectrum CLS CCD; Star Adventurer Canon 70-200 f4 L; 200mm f5;
Autoguide ASI120MC;
Exp: ISO 1600 1h06' (10*6'); Darks & Flats & bias Backyardeos + APP + PS (Astronomy Tools e TMPv4)
Siena, 01/07/2019
Edited European Southern Observatory context/wide-field image of the star 2MASS J16281370-2431391, which looks like a hamburger (or flying saucer (see previous image)).
This wide-field view shows a spectacular region of dark and bright clouds, forming part of a region of star formation in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer). This picture was created from images in the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
A wide-field astrophotograph of the Antares region, including the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, M4, and surrounding reflection and dark nebulae. This colorful area of the sky lies in the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus.
📍 Location: Shima City, Mie Prefecture, Japan
📅 Dates: April 4, 2022 & April 17, 2023
🕒 Total Exposure Time: 399 minutes
🔭 Equipment:
- Telescope: Takahashi FS-60CB with Multi Flattener 1.04x
- Mount: Vixen GPD with SS-One AutoGuider Pro
- Cameras:
• Canon EOS Kiss X8i (Rebel T6i, stock) — ISO 1600, 3 min × 73 = 219 min
• Canon EOS Kiss X5 (Rebel T3i, stock) — ISO 1600, 3 min × 60 = 180 min
Processing:
- Image stacking and calibration in PixInsight
- Final post-processing in Adobe Photoshop
Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud. Original from NASA. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.
Unmodded 5DmkII, 85L on an Astrotrac
30 x 60 sec subs @ ISO 800, f/2.8, 15 Darks, 50 Offsets
Preprocessing and processing in PixInsight, cosmetic/colors/saturation with Photoshop CS5
Modded Canon 4500D/XSi Baader, 85 f/1.2L lens, Astrotrac, BackyardEOS
85 x 60 seconds @ 800 ISO, f/4.0, 85mm, 30 darks, 100 bias/offsets.
Preprocessed and processed with PixInsight, minor tweakings with Photoshop CS5
Antares, M4 and the Rho Ophiuchi complex. Ten minute exposure with Canon XSi and 200mm telephoto. Enhanced with Photoshop.
Farellones 28.03.2009
Exposicion: 5x 10min, ISO 800
Piggyback Tamron 17-50mm @ 36mm f/4.5
Nebulosity / Photoshop
Our human eyes aren’t good at seeing colours at night. Fortunately our cameras are great at seeing colours in low light and they enable us to record the hues and tones that lurk beyond our human senses. The most obvious areas of colour in my photo for today are the thick areas of stars and interstellar dust and gas at the right of the shot, in the Milky Way’s galactic core region.
Over to the left, though, there are other colourful things to be seen. The bright orange object about a third down on the left is the planet Mars and below it and just to the right is the whitish-looking planet Saturn. I hope you can see that to the left and right of Mars there are blue hues in the faint gas clouds there. Further right of Mars is the orange-looking star Antares, surrounded by a faint yellow glow of gas. This whole area is the star-forming region of what’s called the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.
A stacked image from 16 original frames, each shot with Canon EOS 6D, Canon 50mm STM lens @ f/3.2, 6 sec @ ISO 3200. The photos were stacked together for noise reduction using the free software Deep Sky Stacker.
Few areas of the sky have as much going on as the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex. These dark blotches of interstellar dust reflect some of the light of the surrounding stars creating beautiful reflection nebulas. On the left is Antares, one of the brightest and most yellow stars in the night sky. Antares nearing the end of its life is also causing the subtle red emission nebula in the area. Below Antares is a small globular cluster NGC6144 and further down still the rather large globula cluster M4 is quite pronounced.
This large area of the milky way is some 4 times the size of the full moon and was photographed with a 200mm camera lens, not a telescope. Total exposure time 1h 45min, shot with a D800.
A new Spring season dawns with the early morning Milky Way core and its ancillary goodness rising over Algonquin Park's frozen Cache Lake. Spring thoughts were hard to come by in the -25C icy stillness.
Jupiter shines brightly in the heart of the Dark Horse, with Rho Ophiuchi and the Blue Horse as company.
I love the way The Black River nebula (B44) appears to be reaching out from the Rho toward the Dark Horse nebula, which, this time, has Jupiter for a heart.
Image is 12 panel mosaic, Nikon D750 and Sigma ART 135. 60s @ f/2
More digging through the Indiana Jones warehouse of hard drive images & PixInsight experiments.
From another NEOWISE night in 2020. After comet-set, I made a long farewell snagging images of a few deep sky targets before packing up. 8 minutes worth of exposures landed on the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex. Just 8. And it was already showing all kinds of nebula detail. Lots of noise too:) Oh, and mostly missing H-Alpha for now.
Now imagining what 2+ hours could yield...and totally getting why it feels like the most astrophotographically unrestrained & tortured target up there.
------
Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM @ 300mm
SkyView Pro 6LT EQ Mount
16 x 30 sec (8 min)
f/9 (trying to button up those stars)
ISO 12,800 (trying to unbutton the buttoning up)
Canon 1100d fullspectrum IR/UV block; Star Adventurer
Canon 70-200 f4 L; 200mm f4; ISO 1600 - Exp: 45'; NO Darks & NO Flats & NO Bias
DSS + PS (Astronomy Tools e TMPv3) + LR
Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud. Original from NASA. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.
Scorpius as revealed by Fuji Acros 100.
P67 165MM @ F/4 45 minute exposure, Fuji Acros 100 in Xtol.
Frame cropped from original.
Just for fun, a mosaic of the two last images. The 85L works really well for panoramas due to its low optical distortion.
Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments. Blue represents 3.6 micron light, green is 4.5 micron light, orange is 5.8, and red is 8.0. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as yellow-green tinted stars in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue-white.
The Rho Ophiuchi Nebula shot with my Canon 6D + 200mm F2.8 L serie in the Mercantour national park (south of France) last June.
172 subs of 30" each at F2.8.
Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments, and its multiband imaging photometer, best for detecting cooler
materials. Blue represents 3.6-micron light; green shows light of 8 microns; and red is 24-micron light. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as red in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue.
Using WISE data I think I have a better match for the colors of the new Herschel imagery. I will probably change the previous file to this color scheme.
It looks like I may be taking an involuntary hiatus from my internet activities for some time. There is no internet access in prison. I am not sure how long my sentence will be but in Oklahoma trafficking is considered a violent crime and there is no eligibility for good time or reduced sentencing.
8 to 12 years is the standard sentence right now.
I am 58, have never been to prison. In six months my life has changed completely and I can only offer my example of stupidly allowing myself to be used by someone who was only interested in saving themselves. Someone I barely knew.
I will have plenty of time to reconsider my foolishness. I will continue to do things right up to the last minute and hopefully the situation might change.
星空調色盤
最後一晚為了拍這個
努力撐到天亮
半夜不小心睡著
差點凍死在停車場
還好最後成果還不差
等待夏季時再多拍幾次
Reprocessing in 2021
Date：2019/3/3
Location：
Tataka, Nantou, Taiwan
Camera：Canon 600D(mod)
Lens/Telescope：
Sigma 50mm ART
Mount：Vixen Polarie
Parameter：f/1.4 ISO800
Exposure time：60sec*85=1.4hr
NO Dark
Software：DSS+PS
Edited Spitzer Space Telescope image of the region around Rho Ophiuchi, showing lots of nebulae and stars. Color/processing variant.
Original caption: Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments, and its multiband imaging photometer, best for detecting cooler
materials. Blue represents 3.6-micron light; green shows light of 8 microns; and red is 24-micron light. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as red in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue.
Taken 5th July 2016, Teide, Tenerife, 28.297963,-16.511146
Canon 5D mkii, 50mm f1.4 @ f5.6, iso1600 22 x 180sec subs
AstroTrac aligned with QHY PoleMaster
Image processed with PixInsight
This wide-field view shows a spectacular region of dark and bright clouds, forming part of a region of star formation in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer). This picture was created from images in the Digitized Sky Survey 2.
Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth..
.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old..
.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments. Blue represents 3.6 micron light, green is 4.5 micron light, orange is 5.8, and red is 8.0. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace..
.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as yellow-green tinted stars in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue-white..
.
Edited Spitzer Space Telescope image of the region around Rho Ophiuchi, showing lots of nebulae and stars. Color/processing variant.
Original caption: Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments, and its multiband imaging photometer, best for detecting cooler
materials. Blue represents 3.6-micron light; green shows light of 8 microns; and red is 24-micron light. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as red in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue.
Edited Spitzer Space Telescope image of the region around Rho Ophiuchi, showing lots of nebulae and stars.
Original caption: Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments, and its multiband imaging photometer, best for detecting cooler
materials. Blue represents 3.6-micron light; green shows light of 8 microns; and red is 24-micron light. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as red in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue.
Edited Spitzer Space Telescope image of the region around Rho Ophiuchi, showing lots of nebulae and stars. Inverted grayscale variant.
Original caption: Newborn stars peek out from beneath their natal blanket of dust in this dynamic image of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called "Rho Oph" by astronomers, it's one of the closest star-forming regions to our own solar system. Located near the constellations Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the nebula is about 407 light years away from Earth.
Rho Oph is a complex made up of a large main cloud of molecular hydrogen, a key molecule allowing new stars to form from cold cosmic gas, with two long streamers trailing off in different directions. Recent studies using the latest X-ray and infrared observations reveal more than 300 young stellar objects within the large central cloud. Their median age is only 300,000 years, very young compared to some of the universe's oldest stars, which are more than 12 billion years old.
This false-color image of Rho Oph's main cloud, Lynds 1688, was created with data from Spitzer's infrared array camera, which has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's three imaging instruments, and its multiband imaging photometer, best for detecting cooler
materials. Blue represents 3.6-micron light; green shows light of 8 microns; and red is 24-micron light. The multiple wavelengths reveal different aspects of the dust surrounding and between the embedded stars, yielding information about the stars and their birthplace.
The colors in this image reflect the relative temperatures and evolutionary states of the various stars. The youngest stars are surrounded by dusty disks of gas from which they, and their potential planetary systems, are forming. These young disk systems show up as red in this image. Some of these young stellar objects are surrounded by their own compact nebulae. More evolved stars, which have shed their natal material, are blue.