22 ASTRONOMY • JUNE 2020
- The hot, massive
stars in the Cat’s Paw
Nebula (NGC 6334) in
Scorpius emit high-
energy radiation that
excites the surrounding
gas and causes it to
glow. Much of this light
comes from hydrogen
atoms, but Spitzer also
picked up emission
from organic molecules
(green in this image).
Some of the nebula’s
dust is so thick that
even infrared light
can’t pass through.
NASA/JPL-CALTECH
2. Part of what made
Spitzer special was
its ability to observe
some of the same
objects targeted by
NASA’s other Great
Observatories. This
view of the Orion
Nebula (M42) combines
Spitzer infrared data (in
yellow, orange, and red)
with Hubble visible-light
observations (in green
and blue). Spitzer
revealed many infant
suns embedded so
deeply in their dusty
cocoons that even
Hubble could not show
them. NASA/JPL-CALTECH/
T. MEGEATH (UNIVERSITY OF
TOLEDO)/M. ROBBERTO (STScI)
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