Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/IPAC

This infrared WISE image displays the Monoceros R2 molecular cloud, where stars are born. Most noticeable are the large glowing regions of dust, lit up and shaped by the brilliant glow of newborn stars in the area. But look more closely and you will see dozens of red-hued stars dotting the periphery of the vivid nebulae; these are much younger stars still in the process of forming, and they only peek through the dust clouds at longer wavelengths of infrared light.

The very brightest region seen here is also known in visible light as NGC 2170, but in those shorter wavelengths of light, most of the stellar nursery is hidden behind dust clouds. Dust becomes increasingly transparent at longer wavelengths of infrared light, which is why astronomers turn to datasets like those from the WISE mission to peer more deeply into shrouded regions like this that harbor the earliest stages of star formation.

This image uses data from the original cryogenic phase of the WISE mission. Infrared wavelengths of 3.4 & 4.6 microns are displayed in blue and cyan, respectively, and are dominated by the glow of stars. Light with a wavelength of 12 microns is displayed in green and traces the presence of carbon-rich dust known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The 22 micron light is rendered in red and is dominated by the thermal glow of warm dust.

Provider: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Image Source: /image/wise/WISE2024-03

Curator: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer