Abstract Art Found in the Orion Nebula

Stsci_2006-01i_1024

stsci_2006-01i January 11th, 2006

Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

Close inspection of the 2006 Hubble Space Telescope color mosaic of the Orion Nebula (M42) reveals numerous treasures that reside within the nearby, intense star- forming region. Southwest of the Trapezium stars located in the center of the nebula, a stunning Hubble Heritage portrait captures a variety of intricate objects. Deeply contrasting areas of light and dark blend with a palette of colors mix to form rich swirls and fluid motions that would make even the best artists stand back and admire their work. Visible slightly above left center is the star LL Orionis (LL Ori), originally release by the Hubble Heritage Project in 2002. The delicate bow shock that surrounds LL Ori points towards the stream of gas flowing slowly away from the center of the Orion Nebula, near the Trapezium stars located off the image to the upper left. Close examination of the ends of the bow shock show secondary shocks that are formed as a two-sided jet of gas flowing away from this forming star at high velocity strikes the stream of low velocity gas from the center. To the right of LL Ori, a ghostly veil of material hangs thick and dark, obscuring portions of the nebula behind it. The bright star toward the lower left of the image, known as LP Orionis (LP Ori), is surrounded by a prominent reflection nebula. Astronomers believe the star is moving within another veil of material that lies in front of M42. The appearance of the bright rim above LP Ori indicates that the teardrop shaped dark region around the illuminating star must be a cavity formed as the star moves through the veil material, rather than being a dusty veil obscuring light behind it.

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2006/news-2006-01

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

Image Use Policy: http://hubblesite.org/copyright/

Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Orion Nebula M42 NGC 1976
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Appearance > Emission

Distance Details Distance

Universescale1
1,500 light years
Stsci_2006-01i_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 34m 56.5s
DEC = -5° 31’ 36.1”
Orientation
North is 10.1° CW
Field of View
8.0 x 5.6 arcminutes
Constellation
Orion

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (B) 435.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 555.0 nm
Red Hubble (ACS) Optical (Halpha) 658.0 nm
Red Hubble (ACS) Optical (i) 775.0 nm
Red Hubble (ACS) Optical (z) 850.0 nm
Blue ESO-2.2m Optical (B) 842.0 nm
Red ESO-2.2m Optical (Halpha) 856.0 nm
Red ESO-2.2m Optical ([S II]) 857.0 nm
Green ESO-2.2m Optical ([O III]) 966.0 nm
Hubble: October 2004 - April 2005; ESO Dec. 11, 2008
Spectrum_base
Blue
Green
Red
Red
Red
Blue
Red
Red
Green
Stsci_2006-01i_1280
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ID
2006-01i
Subject Category
B.4.2.1  
Subject Name
Orion Nebula, M42, NGC 1976
Credits
NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team
Release Date
2006-01-11T00:00:00
Lightyears
1,500
Redshift
1,500
Reference Url
https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2006/news-2006-01
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
The distance to the Orion Nebula is 1,500 light-years (460 parsecs).
Facility
Hubble, Hubble, Hubble, Hubble, Hubble, ESO-2.2m, ESO-2.2m, ESO-2.2m, ESO-2.2m
Instrument
ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, -, -, -, -
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Red, Red, Red, Blue, Red, Red, Green
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
B, V, Halpha, i, z, B, Halpha, [S II], [O III]
Central Wavelength
435, 555, 658, 775, 850, 842, 856, 857, 966
Start Time
2004-10-12, 2004-10-12, 2004-10-12, 2004-10-12, 2004-10-12, -, -, -, -
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
H
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
83.73532077870, -5.52670553949
Reference Dimension
4806.00, 3364.00
Reference Pixel
4091.54884289296, 6464.64730718960
Scale
-0.00002777675, 0.00002777675
Rotation
-10.07484645799
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
World Coordinate System resolved using PinpointWCS 0.9.2 revision 218+ by the Chandra X-ray Center
Creator (Curator)
STScI
URL
http://hubblesite.org
Name
Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach
Email
outreach@stsci.edu
Telephone
410-338-4444
Address
3700 San Martin Drive
City
Baltimore
State/Province
MD
Postal Code
21218
Country
USA
Rights
http://hubblesite.org/copyright/
Publisher
STScI
Publisher ID
stsci
Resource ID
STSCI-H-p0601i-f-4806x3364.tif
Resource URL
https://mast.stsci.edu/api/latest/Download/file?uri=mast:OPO/product/STSCI-H-p0601i-f-4806x3364.tif
Related Resources
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/01
Metadata Date
2022-07-06T00:00:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
1,500 light years

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