The Spider Nebula lies about 10,000 light-years away from Earth and is a site of active star formation. Infrared wavelengths have been assigned visible colors. Light with a wavelength of 1.2 microns, detected by 2MASS, is shown in blue. The Spitzer wavelengths of 3.6 and 4.5 microns are green and red, respectively. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/2MASS
A nebula known as “the Spider” glows fluorescent green in an infrared image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). The Spider, officially named IC 417, lies near a much smaller object NGC 1931. Together, the two are called “The Spider and the Fly” nebulae. Nebulae are clouds of interstellar gas and dust where stars can form.
The Spider, ~10,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Auriga, is clearly a ...
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