Via Space.com:
The Cigar Galaxy lights up the night sky when viewed in the infrared spectrum.
Also known as Messier 82 (M82), the Cigar Galaxy sits about 11.7 million light-years (or about 68 trillion miles) from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major.
The galaxy appears as little more than a bar of light in the visible range of the light spectrum, but blazes into deep reds using the Spitzer Space Telescope’s infrared eye.
The red “flames” seen here are made up of dust particles blowing into space from hot stars that appear in blue. According to Spitzer’s instruments, the dust contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, a carbon-containing molecule found in car tailpipes and barbecue pits.
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3 comments:
I don't know what to make of your wish that harm should befall me. It's pretty sad (and saddening), though.
I don't know what makes you think you're any more welcome here than you are at Eschaton.
How come it doesn't look like that in my backyard 'scope! That is an unusual shot of M82. I don't know if I have ever seen an IR image of it before. Halpha images have a rough similarity to the Spitzer shot.
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