Flight Through the Orion Nebula in Visible and Infrared Light [Ultra HD]

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. The glowing gaseous landscape has been illuminated and carved by the high energy radiation and strong stellar winds from the massive hot stars in the central cluster. The infrared observations generally show cooler temperature gas at a deeper layer of the nebula that extends well beyond the visible image. In addition, the infrared showcases many faint stars that shine primarily at longer wavelengths. The higher resolution visible observations show finer details including the wispy bow shocks and tadpole-shaped proplyds. In this manner, the movie illustrates the contrasting features uncovered by multi-wavelength astronomy.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and F. Summers, G. Bacon, Z. Levay, J. DePasquale, L. Hustak, L. Frattare, M. Robberto (STScI), R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC), M. Kornmesser (ESA), A. Fujii
Acknowledgement: R. Gendler
Music: “Dvorak - Serenade for Strings Op22 in E Major larghetto”, performed by The Advent Chamber Orchestra, CC BY-SA

[@FrankSummers]

For those asking if this is "real" ... This sequence is a visualization based on Hubble and Spitzer observations, as well as star catalogs and such. We use science info where available, astronomy/physics intuition as possible, and artistic license as needed. It is a scientifically reasonable representation. However, it is impossible to represent things absolutely accurately and have an enjoyable and cinematic piece. For instance, stars are point light sources that get brighter as you get closer. At these close distances and any reasonable camera exposure, the stars would saturate the image and you could not see the nebula. We adjust the exposures for each element separately. That is an example of the artistic license we take. It is our desire to give the audience an experiential understanding of the 3D nature of the star-forming region, which in turn helps one to imagine and understand the 2D images from telescopes.

[@paulmarado]

Frank Summers Frank are you one of those guys that demoted Pluto? Not cool in my book.

[@FrankSummers]

If you watch my DVD course from The Great Courses, "New Frontiers: Modern Perspectives on the Solar System", you will understand that Pluto was shifted from being an oddball outcast amongst the planets to now being one of the largest and certainly the best studied of the Kuiper Belt Objects. New knowledge and enhanced understanding are cool in my book. :-)

[@rationalismexpress9989]

+Frank, Nice explanation. Thanks for your informative comment.

[@jacksfan122]

Well now, Frank Summers, thank you so much for your eloquent and honest explanation - I did enquire, on a different site, where the REAL footage was and as a consequence received such a barrage of abuse that one might think I'd called their mother a whore.

[@Baka-pj9xv]

Thank you for a great explanation 👍😊

[@FrankSummers]

At roughly 1:50 in the sequence, we pass close to a "proplyd". This unfortunate nickname is a contraction of "proto-planetary disk", a term that refers to the dark disk of gas and dust in which planets form around a newborn star. This proplyd also has twin jets of emission from the new star beaming perpendicular to the disk. Such jets are a common feature of star formation. In addition there is a tadpole-shaped shroud of gas around the system. This gas is being blown back into a windsock shape by the intense stellar wind from the largest star, Theta Orionis 1C. Hubble uncovered dozens of these proplyds in the Orion Nebula, and we chose to feature this one prominently. One can see many other "tadpoles" in the visualization, but this is the only one where the camera passes close enough to see the details.

[@BobStein]

Ah so that explains why we can see "through" the shroud. Happy birthday, little stellar system.

[@LorrysBA]

Thank you! Your comment should be pinned

[@sebg5165]

neek

[@zbnmth]

@@-invalidkey-8390 , Yeah, that's cloud-shape recognition that I can see, but I also find Daffy Duck. Your perception is coloured towards an anti-trump (though I am also not a fan) conspiracy-level. See Anil Seth on expected patterns and perception, and possibly a doctor if your paranoia increases; remember, this type of perceived patterns also go the other way; Trump-supporters are likely to find irrational patterns against him. Folie a deux or larger groups of biased opinions are legion, and part of how groups of "converts" are formed - through the biological wiring of the brain and overestimating the danger in many things. Better to think to see a tiger in the foliage and run than take some seconds to re-analyse. Also better to belong to any group than to be an outcast - which is why your perception tends to follow some group's conviction. You are safe to statistically analyse your perception, and take a step back. www.ted.com/talks/anil_seth_how_your_brain_hallucinates_your_conscious_reality?language=en Hope this helps! (I had a full-on psychosis some years ago, which is something I wish unto no-one; this is why I felt compelled to react.)

[@moiratoner1409]

Is there a relationship between a proplyd and a bubble nebula?

[@TheEmperorOfWei]

Wow, the incredible video, combined with the beautiful music, made me a little misty-eyed!

[@sweetwildangel1]

TheEmperorOfWei I FEEL YAH! IT'S ABOUT THE ALMIGHTY HEAVENLY FATHER JEHOVAH GOD & HIS BELOVED SON... In our beliefs and embedded in our HEARTS WE KNOW GOD WHEN WE SEE OUR MAKERS CREATIVITIES! CREATIVITIES WAY BEYOND OUR THOUGHTS BUT WHEN WE SEE WHAT HE'S MADE WE KNOW WE ARE LOOKING AT THE IMAGE OF THE FATHER IN THE HEAVENS💖 PEACE&LOVE... TILL-TIME INFINITE......💜

[@sweetwildangel1]

Years of JOY knowing we will be rescued.....😚

[@dnoodspodu1159]

I had to mute that kitsch

[@amilcarcarpintero7422]

Sii..así es. 😯🙂🙂🙂

[@metrotek5]

@@dnoodspodu1159 to each her own

[@yahsworld2940]

Would love for space travel to be so advanced one day that we could literally just tour the nebulas and galaxies.

[@ZeeZee9]

Yes!

[@fohpono8884]

I’ve been involved in Astronomy since the 1950’s, but what these digital artists/scientists are able to do today is on a whole new level. Glad to still be alive to witness this! Maybe it can be adapted to Virtual Reality goggles?

[@FrankSummers]

For those asking, the speed through the Nebula is about 2 light-years per second, or roughly 60 million times the speed of light. Glad you are enjoying our work. Please ask other questions and we'll check back and try to answer them.

[@landy-gyebnar]

Mr. Summers, would you please explain the nature of the droplet (or parachute) shaped feature seen at 1:50 at the left side of the view?

[@-danR]

So where's the blue-shifting?

[@petergervai4913]

@tubeist-dan: At that speed there'd probably much more visual trouble than that. ;-)

[@petergervai4913]

@Frank Summers: interestingly that was my first question, and it wasn't mentioned in either "official" description, along with the length of the path we have flown. Also I am not sure (but I could look it up I believe) the density and "particle" size of the "dust", since I suspect that at this magnitude it isn't quite "dust" but rather big blobs of stuff (whatever "stuff" could mean in this context). I would have welcomed a lower right indicator of length scale. ;-)

[@FrankSummers]

Monika Landy-Gyebnar - I just posted a reply to your question as a separate comment.

[@jskpatriot]

Thank you for this! I teach astronomy to young people and will share this with them in our Zoom class. It will be another proof of God moving in His majesty throughout the universe!

[@curiousHell1775]

A science teacher shouldn't involve god into the subject.

[@prateeksha5682]

This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in 23 years of my life. My curiosity bought me here. Universe is so beautiful so much beautiful. Thank you very much for making this video for us NASA. I really respect you and love you guys❤️ P. S. The background music is so good.

[@FrankSummers]

Thank you. We are so glad that our work touched you.

[@onecanina]

This video is very amazing. The information about the different spectrum and images adds to the experience. The 3D model is also something I would love to see more. One thing I think will help very much the understanding is to add a caption on the bottom corner of the screen saying how many times de speed of light is the video traveling. To me, it is a good way to gain a sense of the vastness of bodies like this. The caption would changing according to the speed, say 200 x Speed of Light, 250 x Speed of Light, 1000 x Speed of light or even an accelerometer as in a car with the pointer changing as the speed change!

[@keithdurant4570]

I actually like that idea. It wouldn't have to be that sophisticated either. A close approximation would be all that is needed for people to grasp the vastness.

[@whatulookingat]

an annotation that can be turned off or on rather than a caption would be better as it would, in my opinion, detract from the visual beauty.

[@onecanina]

G fae Dundee I thought about this as well and I see what you are saying. If you go purely for the art impression you are right, might not be that interesting, but I also feel like the gained understanding brought by this key information can add to the experience as a whole. Maybe will depend from person to person.

[@FrankSummers]

The addition of a speedometer would shift this video to being more didactic, and less cinematic. Such a didactic treatment would be well-suited to educational venues, while we were thinking more general audience for KZbin. There are a number of additions, especially narration, that I would add for an educational version. I have been asked for such by several people, and we are evaluating it. I would certainly like to do a Hubble's Universe Unfiltered episode on this work.

[@auroraworshiper8958]

+Frank Summers I miss your video, Mr Frank it's been a loooooong time I just can't wait

[@warrenmcgovern8231]

Stunning. Can't express how appropriate even the music selection was.

[@cyrilblanchard1938]

Amazing vidio everyone!!!!!!!!.......it's undescribable!!!!!!

[@gimzani]

This is easily one of the coolest things I have ever seen!!!

[@Garahafi]

Is that Supreme Leader Snoke at 1:43? Beautiful film Hubble.

[@nickolasstuart9624]

2001 A Space Odyssey is an accurate depiction of space...where as Star Wars is horribly wrong

[@magicblini]

A VR glass would be awesome right now

[@FrankSummers]

A VR 360 movie of this sequence is in the works. We hope to have it ready in a month or so.

[@DanielVerberne]

Juicy, knotty tendrils of dust and gas, I love it. Wonderful visualisation and excellent scientific outreach. I don't pretend to have much in the way of understanding of much of the objects we're seeing, but it's extremely impressive.

[@Lisa-pb3qp]

Breathtaking.

[@danhammang7167]

What a great collaboration. Thanks to all who labored to make it possible.

[@robertolarrea3917]

Las imagenes son excelentes 👍👍👍👍

[@deanlawson6880]

Wow! Such a beautiful fly-through tour of the Orion Nebula! Just amazing!

[@666sassylassy]

Thank you for researching, gathering and sharing this fantastic piece of collaboration. It was a wonderful experience to view.

[@palfyneagi8785]

Thanks! Fantastic!

[@janicmeier9446]

Wow this was the most beautiful ive ever seen

[@Corntassels]

Thank you for this beautiful view of the Orion Nebula. I came to ask about colors, knowing that some of what we were seeing was an overlay of the infrared images from Spitzer, but found most of my answer in the comments. I appreciate the combination of art and science here very much :)

[@emmahallard1949]

Just beautiful and stunning..so well put together as well..love the music..informative and a work of art..many thanx

[@davidlanham99]

These pictures are from around 670 a.d., during the Dark Age of Europe and the Arab-Byzantine war.

[@AcerManAcer]

thats just breathtaking when you phrase it this way ...

[@Deedee-ee1sg]

Stunning video! The universe is truly mysterious and beautiful!

[@distanced]

This was beautiful.

[@user-fh5ov4tu2j]

i enjoyed this immensely, this is amazinng

[@tatyanakadochkina4882]

Synthesis of color and sound sharpens perception and expands consciousness

[@neilkushner2706]

You are wonderfully great and thanks for all these fantastic videos

[@katrogers3932]

WOOOW~ COULD HAVE DONE THIS FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR~ STUNNING EXPERIENCE!

[@mateusdomingues1794]

amazing....

[@waterskippers]

Up until 0:23 I was about to post a comment along the lines of "This isn't in 3-D!" but then 0:48. I'm so glad I got a 4k monitor.

[@sij6169]

I don't know why but when the video started to end and the camera pulled back I felt sad, I felt like I didn't want to leave. I have suffered with mental health problems as far back as I remember and have felt depressed for a long time. For some reason this made me feel something deep inside, it was like everything was going to be ok. Thank you for this piece it truly is beautiful.

[@philipwesterman8107]

I can't wait to see this in person.

[@nYxed1337]

Amazing

[@michaeljaeschke1649]

Imagine living on a planet orbiting a star at 2:00 in a huge dust valley

[@AcerManAcer]

yeah but the dust would obscure your view of space so you wouldnt be able to observe it as well as we can right now :((( though it would be exhilarating i gotta admit that

[@Deedee-ee1sg]

Superb video!

[@MKredfox]

Awesome awesome awesome

[@yeremyjavieryagualgomez513]

Thank you very much

[@neilkushner2706]

Oh, thanks for the description of it, I read it in the comments, thanks for the video, quite wonderful

[@billalhossainfrancis7685]

Wonderful

[@teme007]

"My God, It's Full of Stars"

[@lindatuohy204]

Wow how beautiful amazing mind blowing is this wow

[@preciousstone4536]

The nebula of the Orion is the gateway to heaven.

[@OG_HazelGrrl]

This is heaven.

[@terrymcalinden889]

Brilliant photography but: What I cannot understand is, if the universe is expanding, how come the Andromeda Galaxy will collide with us in the future.

[@chrissampson5416]

Absolutely amazing. Can't wait to see what Hubble & JWST get up to.

[@josette6214]

Amazing video! Thank you!

[@tatyanakadochkina4882]

синтез цвета и звука обостряет воспри

[@robertwaite837]

Amazing Video! Now that is Heaven!

[@Apeironn87]

when the camera was flying by through the stars and it showed the oort clouds of each of them, it made me realize how big the nebula actually is

[@RealAvus]

this can be the new Star Trek opening with the right theme song.

[@emisode]

True art!

[@OrionMichaelGuy]

All of the Cores of the Cosmos, including Black Holes are Solid Crystal Core Quantum Computers! When the Black Hole gets heavy enough it does go through a dimensional shift and "falls" into a new set of Geometric Space-Time Think of it like this, the Supermassive Black Hole falls through this Space-Time Continuum and creates its own new Space-Time Continuum, and its own new Universe The physics are actually already mapped out, but the concept is that the new Universe within the Supermassive Black Hole has a "Time Rate" or a "Tickrate" that it MUCH faster than our own, so inside the Supermassive Black Hole Time occurs much faster compared to our continuum And because all Matter in the Universe, all the Crystal Cores of the Cosmos, through the use of quantum computations are actually able to grow not only themselves, but the space they occupy, the new Universe within the Supermassive Black Hole has the potential to either Grow and Expand, or it will Shrivel and Contract If the Supermassive Black Hole is growing! It will be able to spit Matter and Energy back up into the Universe that it is residing in and grow a Galaxy around itself! The idea is this, Planets grow into Stars, Stars grow larger and larger and have planetary nebula and give birth to more planets, the planets become stars, the biggest stars become black holes, the biggest black holes become galaxies, while each one is a Crystal Core Quantum Computer and through the use of physics they are all able to grow not only their Matter but they also grow the space they occupy I know it is simple, if not superficial to say planets become stars stars become black holes, black holes become supermassive black holes and host their own universe and then feed the universe that is supporting them by growing a galaxy around themselves, but that is exactly what is happening Just like life the Universe grows and expands, to infinity and beyond! The Universe is a Multidimensional Multiverse, that is a Cascade of Universes falling infinity into more and more massive and dense states Black Holes within Black Holes, Universes within Universe The physics is all mapped out, there is no big bounce and there is no big crunch, there is just the continuation of the ever expanding continuum, and the infinite continuums within

[@paalmuruganantham1457]

Great wonderful super wow gold and lifetime experience in this ⌚ 🙏

[@odiscipulo33]

Nós agradecemos muito a Deus pelo KZbin !

[@MysticRebelle7]

breathtaking! 💕

[@johnmcnaught7453]

Great science can be great art as well !

[@jackxy2371]

John McNaught But great art cannot be called great science.

[@southwestontario]

All from the Master Artist Jehovah God !

[@ggjvcfgbb4341]

John McNaught gi

[@Falzeee]

Its not science. NASA doesn't do science, it makes bullshit like this video. All NASA has ever done is lied! Never went to the moon! Never left this planet!

[@brad3d]

+Falzeee, please crawl back under your rock....

[@ReadyToFly24]

Hubble is on a plane and called Sofia, you can't fool everyone anymore. Wonderful work on the CGI tho.

[@delpinsky]

Simply fantastic! We are just a tiny sand grain in the immense vastness of the cosmic ocean :)

[@blackopal3138]

Galileo would be proud. ... and, I'm pretty sure, amazed!

[@fallinjosh15]

Watch this high and you'll actually be in the nebula

[@spifoez6501]

Wish I can physically travel through out the space..

[@mikailbenson6481]

Me to

[@allenpage6761]

when you think that we are just tiny dust mites gazing across hundreds of light years of the cosmos with a telescope hovering in space ... Mind blown completely !!!

[@martind.5257]

Thank you

[@DavidMichaelCommer]

It makes me think of detailed images of the iris of an eye.

[@BobStein]

Out-of-focus foreground implies a camera lens (or eyeball) that's a lightyear wide.

[@jongroubert4203]

This is awesome. Except you should really watch it without sound. The music reminds me waaaay too much of the ending of Soylent Green. Which, as you know, is people. :-)

[@Luis-yx1xi]

I wonder if there is a planet with humans in that beautiful Galaxy.

[@garywhittington6283]

This is really neat, and looks even more impressive in IMAX 3D at the Kennedy Space Center.

[@FrankSummers]

When we did the IMAX Hubble film, we only did the visible light image from Hubble. Here, we add the infrared view from Spitzer. But, yes, you absolutely right that such sequences look awesome in IMAX presentation.

[@baselinesweb]

Very nice. Makes me sad to think that we all will leave this fantastic world at some point...hope there is something nice on the other side.

[@mdayenuddinsorder1042]

আলহামদুলিল্লাহ ( altu)🤲🤲🤲🤲মাশাআল্লাহ

[@bobyjoseph9803]

Incredible!

[@OldKingSol]

Some of the bow shocks were a bit 'jerky' in their movements, but still, a gorgeous video.

[@joechill6332]

I wish reality would be this beautiful as well 😭

[@dariocedeno4281]

Solo es impresionante

[@jacklight2752]

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

[@ccapatan8833]

Well done, it's beautiful

[@carlosdia598]

My ancient home, it is so beautiful .

[@Vidyut_Gore]

Who needs magic wands when you got Hubble?

[@allenshepard7992]

"Its full of Stars" - 2001 - A space odyssey James Webb Telescope should be even more interesting.

[@kitssam1520]

Love it.

[@sportforce7625]

Orion Nebula🤩

[@Hummelsbusch]

I played it at half speed. The music gets weird, but the intensity doubles...

[@MortyMortyMorty]

1:49 What's that?

[@90svoyager]

It's a demon!

[@BobStein]

Some kind of spaceship? You can see stars through it.

[@FrankSummers]

I just posted a reply as a separate comment. P.S. I'm the lead astronomer/visualizer on the piece.

[@MortyMortyMorty]

Yeah i read that thanks

[@gaiusdaniel4221]

thats a bow shock......a magnetic field or something of that sort forms around star which shields the star from the interstellar wind.....all stars have them even our own sun

[@Bert0ld0]

How many light years we travel in the Orion Nebula? From 1:00 to the end

[@cajonaconaquetebotou]

This hyperdrive is running about 0,625 light years per second. Not bad.

[@bradkilmer8055]

I'm just wondering about the accuracy of the placement of many of the stars(?). While moving through the nebula (especially around the middle of the visualization), it also appears that we are also moving through a cluster of many stars. Is that accurate - or some of that artistic license you mentioned? ...or are those points of light not stars? ...are they planetary masses scattered throughout the nebula and do you actually have data to suggest their relative position within the nebula? Beautiful visualization by the way, but I was 'distracted' by these questions while watching.

[@melvinnizelalarca8423]

I believe that we are not alone.

[@InderjeetSinghmakkar]

There is no secret to find,life itself a mystery.

[@andresalvadego]

nice song

[@visionearth6578ichbinslive]

Wow beautiful 🤗 🎯✨ I am a little woman in the universe ❗✨

[@endoftheroad10090]

Oi m8, you’re breaking the universal speed limit

[@rulingmoss5599]

There is no speed limit.

[@gobro9483]

Can someone tell me at what speed are we travelling along the nebula?

[@distanced]

Can we use this footage of we give credit?

[@FrankSummers]

Yes. Our work is funded by NASA, which is funded by public dollars. We only ask for credit in your usage.

[@Jila_Tana]

Imagine a civilization that would be present on a planet inside the Orion Nebula. Imagine Earth being there instead. We'd have a beautiful sky, but so little knowledge about what surrounds us, compared to what we know now. Can we expect similar or better pictures from JWST or is the output of that telescope just data for scientists ?

[@danielstolte3492]

What's that weird, parachute-like looking object flying by at 01:50?

[@OldKingSol]

A forming star system (still surrounded by its stellar disk) with a bow shock formed against the interstellar winds. All those little crescent-shaped wispy things are bow shocks.

[@FrankSummers]

I posted a reply as a separate comment.

[@neilkushner2706]

What is that at 1:50 left corner, it looks like some kind of umbrella shaped thing?

[@katleensarmientocastillo19]

Is amazing, wow! ❤