Every week, the Hubble Space Telescope releases a 'Picture of the Week', and this time it's an explosion of colour and activity! It shows a region of space that is relatively close to Earth – just 5 900 light years away –in the constellation Scorpio, and it is based on observations made by Chalmers astronomer Professor Jonathan Tan, together with colleague Rubén Fedriani, previously at Chalmers and currently at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.
This image was compiled using observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC 3). Raw telescope observations in the infrared spectrum are always monochrome, since the eye can't see infrared light. However, specially trained artists and image specialists can select colours that match the wavelength range. For example, they might assign bluer colours to shorter wavelengths and redder colours to longer wavelengths, as is the case in the visible light range. Then, data from multiple observations in different wavelengths can be combined to build up a multi-colour image, that both looks beautiful and has scientific meaning.
At the centre of the image, the region known as IRAS 16562-3959 is thought to host a massive star — about 30 times the mass of our Sun — that is still in the process of forming. At the near-infrared wavelengths to which Hubble is sensitive, the central region appears dark because there is so much obscuring dust in the way. However near-infrared light leaks out mainly on two sides — upper left and lower right — where a powerful jet from the massive protostar has cleared away the dust.
Multi-wavelength images including this incredible Hubble scene will help us gain a better understanding of how the most massive, brightest stars in our galaxy are born.
A full scale version of the image, and more info, is available on the European Space Agency ESA's website, on which this text is based.
Contact
- Full Professor, Space, Earth and Environment