Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Content Provider | AstroPix |
---|---|
Description | Typically if an astronomer wants to look into or through a thick dark cloud in space, they will choose to look in infrared light. However, in this infrared image from NASAs Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, we can see that some clouds are so cool and thick that even infrared cant penetrate them. The black areas in this imagecalled infrared dark clouds (IRDCs)are exceptionally cold, dense cloud cores seen in silhouette against the bright diffuse infrared glow of the plane of the Milky Way. Theyre great examples of why it is so useful for astronomers to be able to observe in many different wavelengths of light. If you were to look at this same region of the sky through a backyard telescope you would see a sea of stars packed together, similar to the thousands of blue stars seen here. You might also notice small patches of darkness that appear to block out the stars behind them. But what you wouldnt see are these beautiful clouds colored green, yellow and red, as in this image from WISEthose are only seen in infrared. In fact, the places where you see dark patches with your eyes are often the places where WISE sees bright clouds with its infrared eyes. Whats dark to our eyes is often bright to WISE because those clouds are dense enough to block visible light,but not dense enough to block the longer wavelengths of infrared lightand too cool to shine in visible light but still warm enough to glow brightly in infrared light. However, that same basic darkening effect is happening even in this infrared image. The dark areas here are places where the gas is extremely compact and chilly, so much so that it is opaque even in the infrared wavelengths that WISE sees. To see them glow we must look in even longer wavelengths. IRDCs are so dense that if you were located in the middle of one of them, you wouldnt be able to see anything no stars, no galaxies, only darkness. The density in these clouds is high enough to lead to the formation of new stars and planets. This image was made from observations by all four infrared detectors aboard WISE. Blue and cyan (blue-green) represent infrared light at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, which is primarily light from stars. Green and red represent light at 12 and 22 microns, which is primarily light from warm dust. |
Language | English |
Publisher Date | 2018-01-11 |
Access Restriction | Open |
Rights License | Public Domain |
Subject Keyword | Star Formation Nebula Interstellar Medium |
Content Type | Image |
Educational Role | Student Teacher |
Educational Use | Self Learning Classroom |
Education Level | Any Level/Generic |
Resource Type | Photograph |
Subject | Physics Solar System |
National Digital Library of India (NDLI) is a virtual repository of learning resources which is not just a repository with search/browse facilities but provides a host of services for the learner community. It is sponsored and mentored by Ministry of Education, Government of India, through its National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT). Filtered and federated searching is employed to facilitate focused searching so that learners can find the right resource with least effort and in minimum time. NDLI provides user group-specific services such as Examination Preparatory for School and College students and job aspirants. Services for Researchers and general learners are also provided. NDLI is designed to hold content of any language and provides interface support for 10 most widely used Indian languages. It is built to provide support for all academic levels including researchers and life-long learners, all disciplines, all popular forms of access devices and differently-abled learners. It is designed to enable people to learn and prepare from best practices from all over the world and to facilitate researchers to perform inter-linked exploration from multiple sources. It is developed, operated and maintained from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.
Learn more about this project from here.
NDLI is a conglomeration of freely available or institutionally contributed or donated or publisher managed contents. Almost all these contents are hosted and accessed from respective sources. The responsibility for authenticity, relevance, completeness, accuracy, reliability and suitability of these contents rests with the respective organization and NDLI has no responsibility or liability for these. Every effort is made to keep the NDLI portal up and running smoothly unless there are some unavoidable technical issues.
Ministry of Education, through its National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT), has sponsored and funded the National Digital Library of India (NDLI) project.
Sl. | Authority | Responsibilities | Communication Details |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education |
Sanctioning Authority | https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives |
2 | Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur | Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project | https://www.iitkgp.ac.in |
3 | National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur | The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project | Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in |
4 | Project PI / Joint PI | Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project |
Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon |
5 | Website/Portal (Helpdesk) | Queries regarding NDLI and its services | support@ndl.gov.in |
6 | Contents and Copyright Issues | Queries related to content curation and copyright issues | content@ndl.gov.in |
7 | National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club) | Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach | clubsupport@ndl.gov.in |
8 | Digital Preservation Centre (DPC) | Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books | dpc@ndl.gov.in |
9 | IDR Setup or Support | Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops | idr@ndl.gov.in |