                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                                 2021 July 7

              Flight Through the Orion Nebula in Infrared Light
     Video Credit: NASA, Spitzer Space Telescope, Universe of Learning;
                  Visualization: F. Summers (STScI) et al.;
   Music & License: Serenade for Strings (A. Dvořák), Advent Chamber Orch.

   Explanation: What would it look like to fly into the Orion Nebula? The
   exciting dynamic visualization of the Orion Nebula is based on real
   astronomical data and adept movie rendering techniques. Up close and
   personal with a famous stellar nursery normally seen from 1,500
   light-years away, the digitally modeled representation based is based
   on infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope. The perspective
   moves along a valley over a light-year wide, in the wall of the
   region's giant molecular cloud. Orion's valley ends in a cavity carved
   by the energetic winds and radiation of the massive central stars of
   the Trapezium star cluster. The entire Orion Nebula spans about 40
   light years and is located in the same spiral arm of our Galaxy as the
   Sun.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.


