红外光波段的昴宿星团

2023年2月19日

Seven Dusty Sisters in Infrared
Image Credit: NASA, WISE, IRSA, Processing & Copyright: Francesco Antonucci

Explanation: Is this really the famous Pleiades star cluster? Known for its iconic blue stars, the Pleiades is shown here in infrared light where the surrounding dust outshines the stars. Here three infrared colors have been mapped into visual colors (R=24, G=12, B=4.6 microns). The base images were taken by NASA’s orbiting Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. Cataloged as M45 and nicknamed the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades star cluster is by chance situated in a passing dust cloud. The light and winds from the massive Pleiades stars preferentially repel smaller dust particles, causing the dust to become stratified into filaments, as seen. The featured image spans about 20 light years at the distance of the Pleiades, which lies about 450 light years distant toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus).

Tomorrow’s picture: stars and streaks

红外光波段的昴宿星团
图像提供: NASA, WISE, IRSA, 图像处理与版权: Francesco Antonucci

说明: 这真的是闻名遐尔的昴宿星团吗？这幅红外光图像，呈现了以标志性泛蓝恒星而声名远播的昴宿星团，而其周边的尘埃比成员星还要明亮。转换出这幅可见光图像的三个红外光波段，分别为24（红）、12（绿）及4.6微米（蓝）。上面这幅图像的底图，是由NASA的广视野红外线巡天卫星（WISE）所拍摄。编录号为M45、有七姐妹星团昵称的昴宿星团，恰好座落在一团路过的尘埃云里。来自昴宿星团大质量成员星的星光和恒星风，偏好的吹跑了较小的尘埃微粒，造成尘埃分层，形成图像中所见到的丝状结构。这张主题图像，涵盖金牛座方向、距离约450光年远的昴宿星团所在之处，约莫20光年宽的区域。

明日的图片: stars and streaks