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IC 4603, John Bozeman

IC 4603

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IC 4603, John Bozeman

IC 4603

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Description

The reflection nebula IC 4603 (LBN 1109) lies roughly in the center of the large area of nebula called Ophiuchus Molecular Cloud, which spans an area of about 4.5° × 6.5°. The Ophiuchus Molecular Cloud, also called Rho Ophiuchus Cloud, is an area with active star formation, which is one of the closest to us at a distance of only about 407 light years. X-ray and infrared observations revealed more than 300 young stars within the large cloud in the center. The age of these stars is estimated to be only 300,000 years - very young compared to the oldest stars in the universe, which are more than twelve billion years old.

Color Mapped:

Red - 22 micron IR
Green - 12 micron IR
Blue - 3.4 micron IR
Cyan - 4.6 micron IR

 Processed with FITS Liberator, PixInsight and Photoshop 2023.

This publication makes use of data products from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, which is a joint project of the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Comments

Histogram

IC 4603, John Bozeman