Protostar HOPS-68 in Orion
Ssc2011 06c1

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Megeath (University of Toledo, Ohio)

Observation • May 26th, 2011 • ssc2011-06c1

ssc2011-06c1

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope detected tiny green crystals, called olivine, thought to be raining down on a developing star. An arrow points to the embryonic star, called HOPS-68. It is located in the dark filamentary cloud of cold dust and gas, over 5 light-years in length, located just north of the Orion nebula, which is seen here as the bright region at the bottom of the image.

About the Object

Name
HOPS 68Orion NebulaMessier 42M42NGC 1976
Type
Nebula > Type > Star Formation
Nebula > Appearance > Dark
Star > Evolutionary Stage > Protostar
Distance
1,450 Light Years

Color Mapping

Band Wavelength Telescope
Infrared 3.6 µm Spitzer IRAC
Infrared 4.5 µm Spitzer IRAC
Infrared 8.0 µm Spitzer IRAC
Infrared 24.0 µm Spitzer MIPS

Astrometrics

Position (J2000)
RA =5h 35m 16.3s
Dec = -6° 0' 51.2"
Field of View
0.8 x 1.4 degrees
Orientation
North is up