Later this week the Spitzer Space Telescope will be retired from use as NASA makes space in its budget and organizational structure for the upcoming JWST. As part of the missions winding down, we’re getting new data of old favorites, and today’s release brings us the Southern Hemisphere’s Tarantula Nebula. The region of illuminated dust was one of Spitzer’s first targets, and has been revisited year after year, with data being taken in 2003, 2006, and now in 2019. This data has allowed us to see stars forming, to identify the role of silicates in the dust, and to monitor the expanding shockwaves from supernova 1987a. While the image has been released, the totality of the science is still to come, and we look forward to bringing you those results when we have them.

You can read the full release at:

Tarantula Nebula Spins Web of Mystery in Spitzer Image (JPL)