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Explanation: Cosmic dust clouds and embedded newborn stars glow at infrared wavelengths in this tantalizing false-color view from the Spitzer Space Telescope. Pictured is of one of the closest star forming regions, part of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex some 400 light-years distant near the southern edge of the pronounceable constellation Ophiuchus. The view spans about 5 light-years at that estimated distance. After forming along a large cloud of cold molecular hydrogen gas, newborn stars heat the surrounding dust to produce the infrared glow. An exploration of the region in penetrating infrared light has detected some 300 emerging and newly formed stars whose average age is estimated to be a mere 300,000 years -- extremely young compared to the Sun's age of 5 billion years.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: star formation - molecular cloud
Publications with words: star formation - molecular cloud
See also:
- APOD: 2025 June 23 Á W5: Pillars of Star Formation
- APOD: 2025 April 28 Á Gum 37 and the Southern Tadpoles
- APOD: 2025 March 26 Á Star Formation in the Pacman Nebula
- The Protostars within Lynds 483
- Stardust in the Perseus Molecular Cloud
- Helping Hand in Cassiopeia
- APOD: 2024 October 22 Á M16: Pillars of Star Creation