Dark Energy Camera Captures Circinus West Molecular Cloud
A celestial shadow known as the Circinus West molecular cloud creeps across this image taken with the Department of Energy-fabricated 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera (DECam) — one of the most powerful digital cameras in the world. Within this stellar nursery's opaque boundaries, infant stars ignite from cold, dense gas and dust, while outflows hurtle leftover material into space.
DECam is mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of NSF NOIRLab.
Credit:CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Kosari (NSF NOIRLab)
About the Image
| Id: | noirlab2515a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | April 24, 2025, 2 p.m. |
| Related releases: | noirlab2515 |
| Size: | 21095 x 17151 px |
About the Object
| Constellation: | Circinus |
| Category: | Nebulae |
Image Formats
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 14 59 54.25 |
| Position (Dec): | -63° 20' 21.47" |
| Field of view: | 94.93 x 77.18 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 0.0° left of vertical |
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colors & filters
| Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical g | 473 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
| Optical g | 473 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
| Optical I | 784 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
| Optical I | 784 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |
| Optical N662 | 662 nm | Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope DECam |