NASA’s Spitzer is a fan of arachnids: The space telescope recently spotted the Tarantula Nebula and its starry web in space.
Spitzer, which is set to be retired on Thursday, has studied this “eight-legged” target since its launch in 2003. The high-res image above brings together data from multiple Spitzer observations, including those collected last year.
The Tarantula Nebula is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy fastened to the Milky Way. It’s a hub for star formation and hosts R136, a “starburst” region where giant stars develop close together at a rate faster than in the rest of the galaxy. Scientists are trying to determine how these mysterious regions form.
The legacy of @NASASpitzer will live on! After more than 16 years of studying the universe in infrared, the space telescope will retire on Jan. 30. One of our greatest observatories will be remembered for its discoveries in and out of our solar system: https://t.co/ldAYIy2e8o pic.twitter.com/brWOYQNtaz
— NASA (@NASA) January 22, 2020
“I think we chose the Tarantula Nebula as one of our first targets because we knew it would demonstrate the breadth of Spitzer’s capabilities,” said Michael Werner from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.”That region has a lot of interesting dust structures and a lot of star formation happening, and those are both areas where infrared observatories can see a lot of things that you can’t see in other wavelengths.”
Today is @NASAspitzer‘s🛰️ 6,000th day of science. After 16+ years in space, our explorer’s mission ends Jan. 30.
Just as discoveries are still being made from Kepler’s🛰️ data, Spitzer’s legacy will continue with its data archive. #SpitzerFinalVoyagehttps://t.co/Hk4iv5excL
— NASA Spitzer (@NASAspitzer) January 28, 2020
One of the most studied stars in astronomy, also known as 1987A, is also located outside the Tarantula Nebula. It earned its nickname after it burned with the power of 100 million suns after exploding in a supernova. The shockwave from this explosion is still moving into space. When this shockwave rams into dust, the dust gets extremely hot and starts to radiate in infrared light.
To see Spitzer’s other space subjects, visit the NASA Selfies App.
More on Geek.com:
- ‘Ghoulish Gourd’ Spotted by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope
- NASA’s Spitzer Captures Vibrant ‘Cosmic Bubble Bath’ in Milky Way
- Spitzer Snaps Bright Infrared Close-Up of M81 Galaxy
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