A Bubbling Cauldron of new-born stars - Spitzer Space Telescope, Rudy Pohl

A Bubbling Cauldron of new-born stars - Spitzer Space Telescope

A Bubbling Cauldron of new-born stars - Spitzer Space Telescope, Rudy Pohl

A Bubbling Cauldron of new-born stars - Spitzer Space Telescope

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Description

Cygnus X region - Infra Red image with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope

This image shows a cloud of gas and dust full of bubbles, which are inflated by powerful winds and radiation created by nearby young, massive stars. Each bubble is filled with hundreds to thousands of stars, which form from the dense clouds of gas and dust in the area. It is located in the Cygnus X region of the sky and is to the north-west of the image I posted previously here: https://www.astrobin.com/1yjp6c/E/?nc=user .

The bubbles are estimated to be 10 to 30 light-years across, based on what astronomers know about them and other cosmic bubbles. Powerful flows of particles emitted by these stars, called stellar winds, as well as the pressure of the light the stars produce, push the surrounding gas and dust material outward, creating the distinct bubble-like perimeters seen above. NASA astronomers have given designations some of these bubbles; the large one at the upper left is AFGL 2636 and the large one at the centre bottom is DR22. I am working on a dramatic close up of bubble DR22 and hope to post it soon.

This image reveals one of the most active and tumultuous areas of the Milky Way – Cygnus X. Located some 4,500 light years away, this huge violent dust cloud holds thousands of massive stars and even more of moderate size. It's literally a “star soup."

(Technical information by NASA).

Data acquisition: Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA

Data processing: Rudy Pohl

Image: RGB image as per colour mapping below

Colour mapping:

.... red channel: 24 μm Spitzer

.... green channel: 8 μm Spitzer

.... blue channel: 5.8 μm Spitzer

Processing software: ESA/ESO/NASA Fits Liberator 3, Photoshop CS5

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A Bubbling Cauldron of new-born stars - Spitzer Space Telescope, Rudy Pohl