NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope captures image of 'burning cloud' Perseus Molecular Cloud

The Perseus Molecular Cloud a gigantic collection of gas and dust that stretched over 500 light-years.

|Dec 31, 2019, 08:46:58 IST

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released images of a 'burning' cloud or the Perseus Molecular Cloud captured by its Spitzer Space Telescope.The fiery image showcased a gigantic collection of gas and dust that stretched over 500 light-years.The image of the Perseus Molecular Cloud is actually 'infrared radiation' of the warm dust and it makes it seem like the outer space is ablaze.According to Fox News, the cloud consists of more than 10,000 gas and dust solar masses and has been a reason for astronomers' fascination for years.[caption id="attachment_7843331" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

The Perseus Molecular Cloud hosts an abundance of young stars. It was imaged here by the NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech[/caption]"Clusters of stars, such as the bright spot near the left side of the image, generate even more infrared light and illuminate the surrounding clouds like the sun lighting up a cloudy sky at sunset," Fox News quoted NASA as saying.According to the space agency, most of the dust particles that could be seen in the image emits no or very little visible light and hence, it was revealed using the Spitzer.The image was taken by the Spitzer's Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) during the 'cold mission' of the telescope which was from 2003 to 2009.

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