Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Andromeda in Infrared (Picture of the Day: 1/30/13)

An infrared image of the Andromeda galaxy. Blue denotes higher temperature. Source

Another false color of Andromeda's infrared light. Source

These two, striking images come from the European Space Agency's Herschel mission, a mission that NASA is strongly involved in. These pictures were taken in the far infrared spectrum and then colored for our benefit. In the first picture, bluish color actually means higher temperature. The benefit of taking images in the infrared spectrum is that it allows scientists to image cold dust, getting a clear picture of particles that are only a few degrees above absolute zero.

No comments:

Post a Comment