NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope has captured a beautiful picture of the California Nebula. In the constellation of Perseus, there lies a star named Menkhib. This is the bright star near the red dust cloud in the upper lefter corner of the image. Menkhib is some 1,770 light-years from Earth. Running diagonally through the image is a large nebula known as NGC 1499, which is also called the California Nebula. Menkhib is a large star with the mass of approximately 40 of our suns. Menkhib also burns brightly, with a surface temperature of 66,000 degrees Fahrenheit which is over 6 times hotter than our Sun.
All four infrared detectors aboard WISE were used to make this image. Color is representational: blue and cyan represent infrared light at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, which is dominated by light from stars. Green and red represent light at 12 and 22 microns, which is mostly light from warm dust.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team
via WISE – Multimedia Gallery: Menkhib and the California Nebula.
