ALFA's View of the Lagoon Nebula
ALFA image of Lagoon HST's view of the same part
HST's view of the same part. This image is part of the famous "Twisters in the Lagoon Nebula" by HST.
Colour composite of three images of the Lagoon Nebula taken with the ALFA/OMEGA instrument in the J, H, and K'-bands.
The ALFA image shows the infrared (IR) view of the central part of the Lagoon Nebula around its energizing star, Herschel 36 (the brightest object in the field). While ALFA still reaches only half the resolution of the HST -- which is due to the wavelength being roughly four times larger than that used for the HST observations while the telescope is only twice the size -- it becomes clear that the IR reveals some interesting details. While the structure of the dust clouds looks generally the same at both wavelengths, the many field stars in the ALFA image demonstrate the ability of IR-light to penetrate the dust and thus yield a much more complete overview of the content of this star forming region.

More Detailed Image/Description

For more information please contact: Markus Feldt, May 99