Orion Bullets
This near-infrared image shows supersonic 'bullets' of gas and the wakes created as they pierce through clouds of molecular hydrogen in the Orion Nebula. The bullets are speeding outward from the cloud at up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) per second. This is more than a thousand times faster than the speed of sound. This image was made possible with the GeMS multi-conjugate adaptive optics (AO) technology that corrects in real time for image distortions caused by Earth's atmosphere. A previous image of this region was obtained with the Gemini Altair AO system, which can also be found on this gallery. GeMS is capable of imaging a larger region of sky and at higher quality. The bullets can be seen to have moved in the six years between the images.
| Observatory: | Gemini Observatory (North) Mauna Kea, Hawai'i |
|---|---|
| Telescope: | Gemini North |
| Instrument: | NIRI+Altair |
| Astronomer: | Gemini Observatory and T. A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) |
| Date of Observation: | 12-28-2012 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | FeII (blue), H2 (orange) and K-2.2 microns (white) |
| Exposure Times: | 20x30sec in each filter |
| Location of Image: | Orion |
| Field of View: | 78.6 x 78.4 arcsec |
| Orientation: | North is up, East is to the left |
| Link to Larger Image | |
| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
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