AKARI maps the infrared universe

The AKARI satellite, a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency mission supported by the European Space Agency, has released the first new map of the sky at infrared wavelengths in two decades. Launched on 21 February 2006, AKARI (previously called ASTRO-F) scans the sky at six different wavelengths, from 9 microns in the near-IR to 180 microns in the far-IR.

Near-IR radiation can pass more readily than visible light through dusty regions of space, so IR astronomy enables the study of the galactic center and other areas obscured in the visible. The dust itself can be observed, too, in the IR, especially when heated up by radiation from newly born stars.

Shown here is the AKARI image of the Orion region at a wavelength of 140 microns; the constellation is sketched in white. The diffuse red glow permeating the image arises from the cold dust in the galactic plane. The bright region below Orion’s belt is the Orion nebula; that at the left end of the belt, the Horsehead nebula; and that in the middle left of the image, the Rosette nebula. All three are active star-forming regions. The ring at the top of Orion is the remnant of a series of supernovae that swept the dust and gas in the region into a shell-like structure.

The online version of this Back Scatter has links to additional images from AKARI. (Image courtesy of JAXA.)

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