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Visualization of the Orion Nebula in Visible and Infrared Light

This visualization explores the Orion Nebula using both visible and infrared light. The sequence begins with a wide-field view of the sky showing the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, then zooms down to the scale of the Orion Nebula. The visible light observation (from the Hubble Space Telescope) and the infrared light observation (from the Spitzer Space Telescope) are compared first in two-dimensional images, and then in three-dimensional models. As the camera flies into the star-forming region, the sequence cross-fades back and forth between the visible and infrared views.

Music: “Dvorak – Serenade for Strings Op22 in E Major larghetto,” performed by The Advent Chamber Orchestra, CC BY-SA

  • Release Date
    April 30, 2020
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Telescope to Unravel Riddles of a Stellar Nursery
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Video: NASA, ESA, Frank Summers (STScI), Gregory Bacon (STScI), Zoltan Levay (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI), Lisa Frattare (STScI), Massimo Robberto (STScI), Mario Gennaro (STScI), Robert Hurt (Caltech/IPAC), Martin Kornmesser (ESA), Akira Fujii; Acknowledgment: Robert Gendler; Music: The Advent Chamber Orchestra

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Video Credit

NASA, ESA, Frank Summers (STScI), Gregory Bacon (STScI), Zoltan Levay (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI), Lisa Frattare (STScI), Massimo Robberto (STScI), Mario Gennaro (STScI), Robert Hurt (Caltech/IPAC), Martin Kornmesser (ESA), Akira Fujii

Acknowledgment Credit

Robert Gendler

Music Credit

The Advent Chamber Orchestra

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