ALMA and the OMC-1

7 April, 2017 / Read time: 1 minute

This animation shows the motions of the gas streamers emanating from the OMC-1 star-forming region in Orion as seen with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) eyes. The colors in the ALMA data represent the relative Doppler shifting of the millimeter-wavelength light emitted by carbon monoxide gas. Initially, the blue color in the ALMA data represents gas approaching at the highest speeds; the red color is from gas moving toward us more slowly.

The video then briefly shows gas at rest with respect to the Orion clouds, followed by streamers receding on the other side with even greater speed. Finally, the animation blends into a near-infrared view from the Gemini South telescope showing shock waves produced by the explosion. The explosion occurred about 500 years earlier when several young stars were ejected from the region.

Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), J Bally; B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF); Gemini Observatory/AURA