Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/IPAC
Although it completed its mission in July, NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) still has interesting archival data spanning the solar system thanks to the team at the Infrared Processing & Analysis Center (IPAC ) from Caltech.
After the spacecraft burned up in the atmosphere in November, IPAC completed the final release of NEOWISE data. For a total of over 26 million images, including 21 complete sky surveys.
Previously launched as NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission in 2009, it searched for black holes and other deep-sky objects. It remained dormant for a time until it was restarted as NEOWISE in 2013, to search for near-Earth objects (NEOs), including comets and asteroids.
All six images shown in this release are infrared images taken during the WISE mission. Each contains stars with wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, colored blue and cyan, while 12-micron light is dust, colored green. And the 22 micron wavelength shows hot gases in red.
Related: A look back at NEOWISE, the NASA mission that has cataloged objects around Earth for more than a decade
The California Nebula (NGC 1499, above)
Located in the constellation of the Hero Perseus, the California Nebula spans 100 light years. The Nebula displays a bright green color with a mix of orange, while the red in the center is the gas surrounding the young, hot star Menkib (Xi Persei).
This fourth-magnitude star emits 300,000 times the amount of energy as our Sun, and its surface temperature reaches 66,000 F (37,000 C). Menkib creates a bow shock when fast-moving stellar winds from the star crash into interstellar dust and gas, creating a buildup. The resulting powder is heated and appears red in the image.
The Gecko Nebula (LBN 437)
Part of Beverly T. Lynds’ “Catalog of Luminous Nebulae,” this star field gets its name from what resembles the spiky head of a lizard near the center of the image. It is located in the constellation Lacerta the Lizard.
Where the reptile’s nose would be is a newborn star with a bright orange-red hue. This small star constantly feeds on matter and expels it, sweeping away the floating dust that surrounds it. These traits are associated with Herbig-Haro objects.
NGC5367
Known as a cometary globule called CG12, this nebula is graced by its dusty comet-like “tail.” Difficult to see in visible light, cometary globules appear much better when imaged in infrared. This globule is located in the constellation Centaurus.
Sailing clouds of dust
The tips of the galactic arms and dusty pillars between the constellations of Centaurus and Vela create dense homes for new stars. In the thinnest sections of the dust, ultraviolet radiation from the stars passed through it, creating the green fingers in the image.
Veil of Aries
This area of the sky in the constellation Aries does not have a common name, yet it offers a glimpse into star formation in the region. Although it looks like a nebula, it was actually given the name “infrared cirrus” because it is a large patch of dusty clouds created by the magnetic fields of stars. The brownish green streak that cuts from the bottom right to the center left of the image is zodiac dust. This material is created by collisions of asteroids or comets within our solar system.
NGC2170
This molecular cloud in the Unicorn constellation Monoceros is the location of NGC 2170, the brightest section of the image. Dotted with dozens of bright blue and red stars, the emission nebula is home to many young stars, though some are hidden by layers of dust.
