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Article Images

An X-Ray Santa Claus in Orion

30 November 2007

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The Orion nebula with its hot gas bubble

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The images show the Orion nebula with its hot gas cloud. The left panel is an image obtained with XMM-Newton data from its European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) in X-rays.

The right panel shows XMM-Newton data, compared to Spitzer observations of the same region. The Spitzer image is a composite image of data obtained in the infrared.

The Orion nebula is the nearest dense star-forming region to Earth that contains stars much more massive than the Sun. XMM-Newton’s newly-discovered gas cloud is composed of winds blowing from these high-mass stars that are heated to millions of degrees as they slam into the surrounding gas.

Credits: Panel A: XMM-Newton EPIC (Guedel et al.), Panel B: AAAS/Science (ESA XMM-Newton and NASA Spitzer data)

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This is a Spitzer image of the Orion nebula in the infrared overlaid with XMM-Newton X-ray data in blue.

Credits: AAAS/Science (ESA XMM-Newton and NASA Spitzer data)

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The Orion nebula in multiple wavelengths

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This is a multi-wavelength image of the Orion nebula. Panel A and B are Spitzer images overlaid with XMM-Newton data.

Panel C is an optical image obtained with the UK Schmidt telescope overlaid with XMM-Newton data. Panel D contains the same UK Schmidt telescope image with overlays of radio data from the Very Large Array.

Credits: Panel A: AAAS/Science (ESA XMM-Newton and NASA Spitzer data) B: NASA/ Spitzer, C: © Anglo-Australian Observatory/David Malin Images, D: © Anglo-Australian Observatory/David Malin Images, VLA

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