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
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    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/