3-D Journey Through the Orion Nebula

Astronomers and visualization specialists from NASA's Universe of Learning program have combined visible and infrared vision of the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes to create an unprecedented, three-dimensional, fly-through view of the picturesque Orion Nebula, a nearby star-forming region.

This image showcases both the visible and infrared visualizations of the Orion Nebula. Credits: NASA, ESA, F. Summers, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, J. DePasquale, L. Frattare, M. Robberto and M. Gennaro (STScI), and R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC)

Using actual scientific imagery and other data, combined with Hollywood techniques, a team at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and the Caltech/Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) in Pasadena, California, has created the best and most detailed multi-wavelength visualization yet of this photogenic nebula. The fly-through enables people to experience and learn about the universe in an exciting new way.

Something good coming out of Hollywood, who would have thought that eh(not that it's really made in Hollywood but you get the idea
).

The three-dimensional structures serve as scientifically reasonable approximations for imagining the nebula. "The main thing is to give the viewer an experiential understanding, so that they have a way to interpret the images from telescopes," explained Summers. "It's a really wonderful thing when they can build a mental model in their head to transform the two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional scene."

It is pretty cool to see this nebula in 3D. I've only been looking at it through photographs or telescopes and now with this animated visualization I'll never look the same way at M42, you amateur astrophotographers on ATS know what I'm talking about

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Interesting, looks as if the nebula swirls in like dust from the outside and from the center spits out some of those stars ?

originally posted by: 0bserver1
Interesting, looks as if the nebula swirls in like dust from the outside and from the center spits out some of those stars ?

Probably, there is a black home or white dwarf star with massive magnetic and gravitational fields and spinning rapidly on an axis. Around a local plane everything is spiraling inwards, and from the magnetic poles, jets of materials are being ejected.

Does visible mean it would be visible with naked eye? What is illuminating those gases?

a reply to: KiwiNite

Not the naked eye (I don't think, but it maybe a fuzzy dot if you can see). They mean "within the visible spectrum we can detect with our eyes". So if you point a telescope at the nebula, that is what you would see.

Spitzer space telescope looks at the infrared portion of the spectrum. That portion is shorter than the red (remember roygbiv?) visible portion. That means that it can "see" through the dust surrounding the center of the nebula. Which allowed for a detailed view of what is happening on the inside.

The dust and gasses are being lit from within by light and some of the of the upper portion of the EM spectrum (x-rays, gamma rays, etc). They hit the dust and make it glow. The x-rays, gamma rays, etc., can make it through and be detected by other telescope made to detect that end of the spectrum.

The Orion Nebula is 12 light years across! It takes light, travelling at the speed of light, 12 years to get from one side to the other. In the video we were travelling pretty fast through it!!

originally posted by: KiwiNite
What is illuminating those gases?

The stars in the Nebula it's a emission & reflection nebula, M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2,000 times that of the Sun.

Here is a nice image taken with a Sony a6300 camera

Here are the stars that make up Orion



As you can see some are closer to Earth than they are to other stars in the Orion Constellation.

Where's all the cool stuff the Re-gyptians wrote about? They pack up and move to Pleiade?