UFTI images high mass stellar birth

The image above, taken through J, H and K-band infrared filters, reveals the striking star formation region ON2 in glorious technicolour! The red nebular harbours numerous young, red stars. These were all formed inside the nebula, as gas and dust collapsed under its own weight to form, first dense, cold cores, and then, after the onset of nuclear burning, young stars. Perhaps this nebula should be christened "the Chicken Nebula"; if you turn it upside-down, you'll see why...!

The image below was taken through three different, "narrow-band" filters. Once again it shows a busy star forming region in our galaxy; this one is know an W51. The image reveals emission from molecules and ions in the region, specifically molecular hydrogen and iron, colour-coded red and green respectively. The hot, young stars illuminate the surrounding cloud material from which they were born, heating and exciting the atoms, molecules and dust...

Data courtesy of M.S. Nanda Kumar (Observatorio Astronómico Nacional, Spain), Sandy Leggett (JAC) and Chris Davis (JAC); image below reduced on-line with ORAC.