NASA Captured This Glowing Red Butterfly In The Sky, And It Looks Absolutely Stunning
NASA¡¯s Spitzer Space Telescope is a highly sensitive infrared telescope that looks out toward distant galaxies. And the space agency just used it to capture an incredible image straight out of a science fiction movie. They call it the ¡°red butterfly"
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is a highly sensitive infrared telescope that looks out toward distant galaxies.
And the space agency just used it to capture an incredibly surreal image straight out of a science fiction movie. They call it the "red butterfly".
NASA/JPL
Officially named Westerhout 40 (W40), this phenomenon is actually a nebula, which is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space. These are the starting points of new stars, before they coalesce into the glowing balls of flame we recognize. The two "wings here are apparently gigantic bubbles of interstellar gas, shifting away from the largest and warmest stars in the area.
Beauty doesn't come that easy though. NASA specifies this isn't just one image but rather a composite of four of them. Taken by Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) during the main mission years ago, they each show the nebula's glowing blue, green, orange, and red hues.
W40 is a perfect example of how scientists say stars form and dissipate the clouds that birthed them. Gravity causes dust and gas in these giant clouds to clump together and, when they reach critical density, they turn into baby stars. These stars then gather in more gas and dust and grow larger and warmer, causing solar wind and radiation to blow away the remainder of the cloud in these bubble patterns.
NASA/JPL
In this particular case, the hottest cluster of stars is right in the center, which is why the cloud is billowing out from either side. You can find out more about W40 and other nebulas like it from the link here.
