Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2019 August 31 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Spitzer's Orion Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JPL-Caltech Explanation: Few cosmic vistas excite the imagination like [5]the Orion Nebula, an immense stellar nursery some 1,500 light-years away. Spanning about 40 light-years across the region, [6]this infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telescope was constructed from data intended to [7]monitor the brightness of the nebula's young stars, many still surrounded by dusty, [8]planet-forming disks. Orion's young stars are only about 1 million years old, compared to the Sun's age of 4.6 billion years. The region's hottest stars are found in the [9]Trapezium Cluster, the brightest cluster near picture center. [10]Launched into orbit around the Sun on August 25, 2003 Spitzer's liquid helium [11]coolant ran out in May 2009. The infrared space telescope continues to operate though, its mission scheduled to end on January 30, 2020. Recorded in 2010, this false color view is from two channels that still remain sensitive to [12]infrared light at Spitzer's warmer operating temperatures. Tomorrow's picture: sisters in space __________________________________________________________________ [13]< | [14]Archive | [15]Submissions | [16]Index | [17]Search | [18]Calendar | [19]RSS | [20]Education | [21]About APOD | [22]Discuss | [23]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell ([27]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply. [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC & [33]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1908/orion2010_spitzer.jpg 3. http://www.nasa.gov/ 4. http://spitzer.caltech.edu/ 5. http://messier.seds.org/m/m042.html 6. http://spitzer.caltech.edu/images/3018-sig10-003-Orion-s-Dreamy-Stars 7. http://spitzer.caltech.edu/news/1099-feature10-05-Colony-of-Young-Stars-Shines-in-New-Spitzer-Image 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091222.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030302.html 10. https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/celebrating-spitzers-sweet-sixteen 11. http://spitzer.caltech.edu/news/942-ssc2009-15-NASA-s-Spitzer-Sees-the-Cosmos-Through-Warm-Infrared-Eyes 12. http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190830.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190831 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190890.html 24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 31. https://www.nasa.gov/ 32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 33. http://www.mtu.edu/