NASA's Spitzer Telescope Captures Heart of the Milky Way
Image Source: Unsplash
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured the heart of our galaxy in one spectacular image. The image combines infrared images of the Milky Way captured by Spitzer and visible-light images from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 to paint a vivid portrait of interstellar matter in our galaxy. This new view is part of a digital atlas that will help scientists understand how stars, planets, dust, and gases mix and aggregate in galaxies like the Milky Way.
What is the Digitized Sky Survey?
The Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) is an archive of nearly 14,500 images from the spdif (standard data interface) of the William Herschel telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. DSS combines a set of 12-meter-class telescopes with a data transfer system to capture nearly the entire visible sky in a single archive. Because the telescope used in the DSS is at a high enough altitude to see infrared light, the archive is also able to capture infrared images. Between 2003 and 2013, the Digitized Sky Survey gathered nearly 500 terabytes of data. This observation and imaging effort produced a wealth of astronomical data, including the most detailed images to date of the northern and southern hemispheres. Scientists have been using this data to create a digital atlas that will help them study our galaxy’s interstellar environment in greater detail.
Spitzer sees infrared light
Spitzer is best known for imaging in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. It can detect heat emitted by warm objects, such as distant galaxies. But Spitzer can also see in the near infrared — between 1 and 2 microns. This means that it can see through clouds of dust that block infrared light from hitting the telescope. This may seem like a small advantage, but it can be a big deal for astronomers studying the Milky Way. The Milky Way is full of interstellar dust clouds, which block visible light from passing through them. But infrared light can easily penetrate these clouds, allowing us to glimpse other galaxies — like ancient stars and dust — that are otherwise invisible.
Visions ofStars Overlaid on Visible Light Image
The final picture is a composite of infrared, visible light, and ultraviolet images. The visible light image shows the location of stars, while the infrared image shows where dust clouds block our view of the stars. The ultraviolet image shows where hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light (also known as “vacuum ultraviolet”). The picture creates a three-dimensional view of the galaxy. The infrared view of interstellar dust clouds reveals where stars and gases mix together in the Milky Way. The infrared image also shows where starlight has been absorbed by the interstellar dust. This absorption reveals where interstellar dust clouds are present and how much dust they contain. The ultraviolet view shows where hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light. Hydrogen gas emits in many wavelengths, but the shorter wavelengths are mostly blocked by interstellar dust.
Infrared view of interstellar dust and gas
From Spitzer’s vision of the Milky Way’s interstellar dust clouds, scientists can see where dust absorbs light from the stars, which reveals where the dust is located. This is how the infrared image of interstellar dust was created. The infrared view of the galactic plane shows where dust absorbs the light from stars and where interstellar hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light. This is how the infrared image of interstellar gas was created. The infrared image also provides information about the Milky Way’s gas and dust. This image shows where stars and gases mix together in the galaxy. It also shows where hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light, revealing where gas and dust are located. The infrared view of the Milky Way’s interstellar gas and dust reveals where our galaxy’s interstellar gas and dust clouds are located. This is how the infrared image of the galactic plane was created.
Yellow-Orange-Red: Stars and Gas
The infrared view of the Milky Way’s interstellar gas and dust reveals where our galaxy’s interstellar gas and dust clouds are located. This is how the infrared image of the galactic plane was created. The infrared view of the Milky Way’s stars reveals where massive, low-mass, and young stars are located. This is how the infrared image of the galactic plane was created. The infrared image of the Milky Way’s gas shows where hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light. This is how the infrared image of the galactic plane was created. The infrared image of the Milky Way’s gas also shows where our galaxy’s gas clouds are located. This is how the infrared image of the galactic plane was created.
Blue: Dust in the Milky Way
The infrared image of the Milky Way’s gas reveals where our galaxy’s gas clouds are located. This is how the infrared image of the galactic plane was created. The infrared image of the Milky Way’s gas also shows where our galaxy’s dust clouds are located. This is how the infrared image of the galactic plane was created. The infrared image of dust in the Milky Way’s gas reveals where our galaxy’s dust clouds are located. This is how the infrared image of the galactic plane was created.
Ultraviolet view of interstellar matter
The ultraviolet view of the Milky Way’s interstellar matter was created by combining optical images of the Milky Way with images of the galaxy’s interstellar gas and dust. The ultraviolet image shows where hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light, revealing the locations of gas clouds in the galactic plane. It also shows where our galaxy’s gas clouds are located. The ultraviolet image reveals where interstellar matter is located in the galactic plane. It also shows where our galaxy’s interstellar matter is located. The ultraviolet image of interstellar matter in the Milky Way’s interstellar gas reveals where hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light, revealing the locations of interstellar matter in our galaxy. It also shows where hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light, revealing the locations of gas in our galaxy.
Which materials are in which part of our galaxy?
The images in the galactic plane provide a 3D view of the galactic environment. The ultraviolet image shows where hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light. The hydrogen gas indicates where our galaxy’s gas clouds are located. The infrared image shows where interstellar dust clouds are located. It also shows where stars and gases mix together in the Milky Way, indicating the locations of interstellar dust clouds that block visible light. The ultraviolet image of interstellar matter in the galactic plane shows where hydrogen gas emits primarily at wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light. The hydrogen gas indicates where our galaxy’s interstellar matter is located.
