Orion "Bullets" with GeMS
This image is just one of millions of astronomical images processed using IRAF. Obtained during the late commissioning phase of the GeMS adaptive optics system, with the Gemini South AO Imager (GSAOI) on the night of 28 December 2012, it reveals exquisite details in the outskirts of the Orion Nebula. In this image, the blue spots are clouds of gaseous iron "bullets" being propelled at supersonic speeds from a region of massive star formation outside, and below, this image's field of view. As these "bullets" pass through neutral hydrogen gas they heat up the hydrogen and produce the pillars that trace the passage of the iron clouds.
Credit:International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
About the Image
Id: | gemini1301a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | Jan. 8, 2013 |
Related releases: | gemini1301 |
Related announcements: | ann21037 |
Size: | 3983 x 3975 px |
About the Object
Name: | Orion Nebula |
Constellation: | Orion |
Category: | Nebulae |
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Coordinates
Position (RA): | 5 35 13.14 |
Position (Dec): | -5° 20' 38.90" |
Field of view: | 1.30 x 1.29 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 1.0° left of vertical |
Colors & filters
Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
---|---|---|
Infrared Fe II | 1.644 μm | Gemini South GeMS |
Infrared H2 | 2.122 μm | Gemini South GeMS |
Infrared Ks | 2.15 μm | Gemini South GeMS |