A Panorama of Oddities in Orion A
Explanation:
New stars, fast jets, and shocked gas clouds
all occupy Orion A, a
giant molecular cloud
just south of the
Orion Nebula.
The bright object visible below and slightly left of center of
this recently released picture is the
reflection nebula
NGC 1999.
Wind from
NGC 1999's
central star, V380 Orionis, appears to have created the
surrounding billows of red and brown gas.
Several bright young stars illuminate reflecting
dust at the top right of the image.
Jets shoot from dozens of young stars creating glowing
compressed shocked waves known
Herbig-Haro objects.
One such shock is the unusual
Waterfall,
the bright streak on the upper right,
which is a source of unusual
radio waves.
The cone-shaped shock to the Waterfall's
lower right may result from a jet emitted
HH1 and HH2, located 10
light-years away below NGC 1999.
The unusual and energetic oddities that
occur and interact in
star forming regions
are often as complex as they are beautiful.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
