Science Source Stock Photo - Serpens Cloud Core

Serpens Cloud Core

Description: This infrared image combines data from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope with shorter-wavelength observations from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), to peer into the clouds of dust wrapped around this stellar nursery. At a distance of around 750 light-years, these young stars reside within the confines of the constellation Serpens, or the Serpent. This collection contains stars of only relatively low to moderate mass, lacking any of the massive and incredibly bright stars found in larger star-forming regions like the Orion nebula. The stellar hatchlings in the Serpens Cloud Core represent the very youngest stages of stellar development. They appear as red, orange and yellow points clustered near the center of the image. Other red features include jets of material ejected from these young stars. Some mature stars that are not in the nebula appear yellowish due to dust obscuring our view at shorter, bluer wavelengths. The inner Serpens Cloud Core is remarkably detailed in this image, as it was assembled from 82 separate snapshots totaling 16.2 hours of Spitzer observing time.

Credit:

NASA/JPL-Caltech/2MASS/Science Source

Unique identifier: SS2611582

Legacy Identifier: JA7081

Type: Image

Size: 3203px × 2100px (~19 MB)

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