APOD: Herschel's Orion (2016 Oct 14)

[APOD Robot]

Herschel's Orion

Explanation: This dramatic image peers within M42, the Orion Nebula, the closest large star-forming region. Using data at infrared wavelengths from the Herschel Space Observatory, the false-color composite explores the natal cosmic cloud a mere 1,500 light-years distant. Cold, dense filaments of dust that would otherwise be dark at visible wavelengths are shown in reddish hues. Light-years long, the filaments weave together bright spots that correspond to regions of collapsing protostars. The brightest bluish area near the top of the frame is warmer dust heated by the hot Trapezium cluster stars that also power the nebula's visible glow. Herschel data has recently indicated ultraviolet starlight from the hot newborn stars likely contributes to the creation of carbon-hydrogen molecules, basic building blocks of life. This Herschel image spans about 3 degrees on the sky. That's about 80 light-years at the distance of the Orion Nebula.

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[Boomer12k]

Awesome... and so is the information.
Our building blocks for life are stimulated by Starlight... it is almost Romantic....

:---[===] *

[heehaw]

Awesome indeed! I'd never have recognized it! That just drives home the fact that EVERY photo we see, not just astronomical, is giving us a highly selective take on what's really there. Wouldn't it be great if we had an equally-detailed photo of the dark matter pervading Orion!

[Asterhole]

We are Stardust
We are golden
We are billion-year-old Carbon...

- Joni Mitchell, Woodstock

[Fred the Cat]

Lacking many visible stars it's hard to get oriented where this image is located. I like the 3D view. Zooming in to the nursery is that a dust bunny under the crib?

Maybe it's just inferred.

[Muppet]

What I thought looked like lightning was merely Christ on the Cross .. time warp I guess.

[Boomer12k]

Happy Birthday, Stars....

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[Boomer12k]

We are Stardust
We are golden
We are billion-year-old Carbon...

- Joni Mitchell, Woodstock

According to this, we would be about 5 billion year old Carbon....

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[DavidLeodis]

Is the Trapezium cluster in the brightest white area just above and left of centre in the image

[Ann]

Is the Trapezium cluster in the brightest white area just above and left of centre in the image

I would think there could be no other explanation.

Ann

[bystander]

Building Blocks of Life's Building Blocks Come from Starlight
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Herschel | 2016 Oct 12

[img3="The dusty side of the Sword of Orion is illuminated in this striking infrared image from ESA's Hershel Space Observatory. Within the inset image, the emission from ionized carbon atoms (C+) is overlaid in yellow. Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech"]http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/herschel ... 073-16.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]

Life exists in a myriad of wondrous forms, but if you break any organism down to its most basic parts, it's all the same stuff: carbon atoms connected to hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and other elements. But how these fundamental substances are created in space has been a longstanding mystery.

Now, astronomers better understand how molecules form that are necessary for building other chemicals essential for life. Thanks to data from the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory, scientists have found that ultraviolet light from stars plays a key role in creating these molecules, rather than "shock" events that create turbulence, as was previously thought.

Scientists studied the ingredients of carbon chemistry in the Orion Nebula, the closest star-forming region to Earth that forms massive stars. They mapped the amount, temperature and motions of the carbon-hydrogen molecule (CH, or “methylidyne” to chemists), the carbon-hydrogen positive ion (CH+) and their parent: the carbon ion (C+). An ion is an atom or molecule with an imbalance of protons and electrons, resulting in a net charge. ...

Herschel/HIFI Spectral Mapping of C⁺, CH⁺, and CH in Orion BN/KL:
The Prevailing Role of Ultraviolet Irradiation in CH+ Formation - Patrick W. Morris et al

• Astrophysical Journal 829(1):15 (20 Sep 2016) DOI: 10.3847/0004-637X/829/1/15
  arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1604.05805 > 20 Apr 2016 (v1), 30 Apr 2016 (v3)

[DavidLeodis]

Is the Trapezium cluster in the brightest white area just above and left of centre in the image

I would think there could be no other explanation.

Ann

Thanks Ann . I was unsure if it was there from the image and explanation.