An article accepted for publication in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” reports an overview of the first results of an astronomical survey called ALCOHOLS concerning the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. For the occasion, ESO released images of the Orion Flame Nebula, one of the star formation areas within that complex. Researchers led by former ESO astronomer Thomas Stanke used the SuperCam instrument mounted on the APEX radio telescope to map the presence of carbon monoxide in that area. Despite its name and what it looks like in the images, the Flame Nebula is very cold, with temperatures generally just a few degrees above absolute zero.
The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex is a giant molecular cloud relatively close to Earth, being about 1,500 light-years away. For this reason, this large area that includes various molecular clouds where star formation processes are underway has been the subject of continuous studies for a long time.
The APEX (Atacama Pathfinder Experiment) radio telescope in Chile was used to map that complex with the SuperCam in the ALCOHOLS (APEX Large CO Heterodyne Orion Legacy Survey) survey after that instrument was installed. In this case, the mapping was focused on detecting the carbon monoxide molecules by exploiting their “signatures”, present in the radio emissions coming from that area.
Thomas Stanke explained that astronomers observe Orion with every new telescope or instrument because there’s always something new and interesting to discover. In the case of the ALCOHOLS survey conducted with the SuperCam instrument, the results begin to be analyzed and made available for specific studies on the various areas within the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex with the many young stars and protostars.
On the occasion of the acceptance of the publication of the ALCOHOLS survey overview, ESO has published images of the Flame Nebula, also known as NGC 2024 and with other designations in the various astronomical catalogs, which hosts young stars whose very energetic emissions cause luminosity of the gas around them.
The nickname Flame Nebula is due to its appearance but actually, the temperature inside it away from the areas where there are stars is a few degrees above absolute zero. Those are the conditions in which the gas inside it can start forming clumps that can grow to create new stars and planetary systems. All that gas blocks many frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum, and radio waves are among the few that make it to Earth.
The infrareds emitted by the molecular clouds can also be detected, and the combination of the detections in the different bands offers more complete portraits of the objects studied. These are very useful images in the study of star formation and evolution processes that are at the same time spectacular from an aesthetic point of view.
