{"id":9825,"date":"2015-02-04T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-04T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9825"},"modified":"2015-02-02T08:22:44","modified_gmt":"2015-02-02T13:22:44","slug":"trifid-nebula-in-infrared-reveals-new-variable-stars-beyond-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9825","title":{"rendered":"Trifid Nebula in infrared reveals new variable stars beyond it"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0European Southern Observatory (ESO)<\/a>\u00a0releases the latest observation highlight:<\/p>\n

VISTA Stares Right Through the Milky Way<\/a>
\n<\/strong>New infrared view of the Trifid Nebula reveals
\nnew variable stars far beyond<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

A new image taken with ESO\u2019s VISTA survey telescope reveals the famous Trifid Nebula in a new and ghostly light. By observing in infrared light, astronomers can see right through the dust-filled central parts of the Milky Way and spot many previously hidden objects. In just this tiny part of one of the VISTA surveys, astronomers have discovered two unknown and very distant Cepheid variable stars that lie almost directly behind the Trifid. They are the first such stars found that lie in the central plane of the Milky Way beyond its central bulge.<\/p>\n

As one of its major surveys of the southern sky, the VISTA telescope <\/a>at ESO\u2019s Paranal Observatory in Chile is mapping the central regions of the Milky Way in infrared light to search for new and hidden objects. This VVV survey (standing for VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea<\/a>) is also returning to the same parts of the sky again and again to spot objects that vary in brightness as time passes.<\/p>\n

A tiny fraction of this huge VVV dataset has been used to create this striking new picture of a famous object, the star formation region Messier 20, usually called the Trifid Nebula<\/a>, because of the ghostly dark lanes that divide it into three parts when seen through a telescope.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The familiar pictures of the Trifid show it in visible light, where it glows brightly in both the pink emission from ionised hydrogen and the blue haze of scattered light from hot young stars. Huge clouds of light-absorbing dust are also prominent. But the view in the VISTA infrared picture is very different. The nebula is just a ghost of its usual visible-light self. The dust clouds are far less prominent and the bright glow from the hydrogen clouds is barely visible at all. The three-part structure is almost invisible.<\/p>\n

In the new image, as if to compensate for the fading of the nebula, a spectacular new panorama comes into view. The thick dust clouds in the disc of our galaxy that absorb visible light allow through most of the infrared light that VISTA can see. Rather than the view being blocked, VISTA can see far beyond the Trifid and detect objects on the other side of the galaxy that have never been seen before.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/archives\/videos\/medium_podcast\/eso1504b.m4v<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

By chance this picture shows a perfect example of the surprises that can be revealed when imaging in the infrared. Apparently close to the Trifid in the sky, but in reality about seven times more distant [1]<\/a>, a newly discovered pair of variable stars has been found in the VISTA data. These are Cepheid variables<\/a>, a type of bright star that is unstable and slowly brightens and then fades with time. This pair of stars, which the astronomers think are the brightest members of a cluster of stars, are the only Cepheid variables detected so far that are close to the central plane, but on the far side of the galaxy. They brighten and fade over a period of eleven days.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

A video comparing views of the Trifid Nebula in visible and infrared light:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/archives\/videos\/medium_podcast\/eso1504a.m4v<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Check out also this\u00a0Slider comparison of the Trifid Nebula in visible and infrared light<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0European Southern Observatory (ESO)\u00a0releases the latest observation highlight: VISTA Stares Right Through the Milky Way New infrared view of the Trifid Nebula reveals new variable stars far beyond A new image taken with ESO\u2019s VISTA survey telescope reveals the famous Trifid Nebula in a new and ghostly light. By observing in infrared light, astronomers can … Continue reading Trifid Nebula in infrared reveals new variable stars beyond it<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-2yt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16640,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16640","url_meta":{"origin":9825,"position":0},"title":"ESO: VISTA infrared telescope reveals inner details of the Carina Nebula","author":"TopSpacer","date":"August 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest report from ESO (European Southern Observatory): Stars v. Dust in the Carina Nebula VISTA gazes into one of the largest nebulae in the Milky Way in infrared The Carina Nebula, one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the night sky, has been beautifully imaged by ESO\u2019s VISTA\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/eso1828a1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25576,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=25576","url_meta":{"origin":9825,"position":1},"title":"ESO: Stellar nursery revealed with visible and infrared survey telescope","author":"TopSpacer","date":"January 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A new report from the European Southern Observatory (ESO): Serpent in the sky captured with ESO telescope A myriad of stars is revealed behind the faint orange glow of the Sh2-54 nebula in this new infrared image. Located in the constellation Serpens, this stunning stellar nursery has been captured in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/eso2301a2-500x442.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13706,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13706","url_meta":{"origin":9825,"position":2},"title":"ESO: Orion star-making unveiled by new observations in near-infrared","author":"TopSpacer","date":"January 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest\u00a0ESO\u00a0(European Southern Observatory) report: Hidden Secrets of Orion\u2019s Clouds VISTA survey gives most detailed view of Orion A molecular cloud\u00a0in the near-infrared\u00a0 This spectacular new image is one of the largest near-infrared high-resolution mosaics of the Orion A molecular cloud, the nearest known massive star factory, lying about 1350\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/eso1701a1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13293,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13293","url_meta":{"origin":9825,"position":3},"title":"ESO’s VISTA sees stars through the dust","author":"TopSpacer","date":"October 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The European Southern Observatory (ESO) latest report: ESO\u2019s Dustbuster Reveals Hidden Stars In this new image of the nebula Messier 78, young stars cast a bluish pall over their surroundings, while red fledgling stars peer out from their cocoons of cosmic dust. To our eyes, most of these stars would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"This richly detailed view of the star formation region Messier 78, in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter), was taken with the VISTA infrared survey telescope at ESO\u2019s Paranal Observatory in Chile. As well as the blue regions of reflected light from the hot young stars the image also shows streams of dark dust and the red jets emerging from stars in the process of formation.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/eso1635a1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22113,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=22113","url_meta":{"origin":9825,"position":4},"title":"Night sky highlights – July 2020","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"[ Update:\u00a0\u00a0What's Up: Skywatching Tips from NASA \u2013 NASA Solar System Exploration What are some skywatching highlights you can see in July 2020? Enjoy the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn with their moons, stay up late to spot Mars rising. Plus: what would you see stargazing on the Red Planet?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&l=am2&o=1&a=1588346641","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11407,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11407","url_meta":{"origin":9825,"position":5},"title":"ESO: A new image of “A Cosmic Rose with Many Names”","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's the latest report from\u00a0ESO\u00a0(European Southern Observatory): A Cosmic Rose With Many Names This new image of the rose-coloured star forming region Messier 17 was captured by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG\/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO\u2019s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is one of the sharpest images\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astronomy"","block_context":{"text":"Astronomy","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"This image of the rose-coloured star forming region Messier 17 was captured by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG\/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO\u2019s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is one of the sharpest images showing the entire nebula and not only reveals its full size but also retains fine detail throughout the cosmic landscape of gas clouds, dust and newborn stars.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/eso1537a1-1024x957.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9828,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9825\/revisions\/9828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}