A MUSE view of the 244-440 young stellar object

This video shows images of the young stellar object 244-440 in the Orion Nebula obtained with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Each slice corresponds to a different colour or wavelength. At certain wavelengths, corresponding to the emission of elements like hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and iron, the nebula shines brightly, revealing intricate structures.

The VLT is equipped with an adaptive optics facility that corrects atmospheric turbulence, making these images sharper than Hubble’s. The system relies on four lasers to create artificial “stars” high up in the atmosphere, whose twinkling is monitored in real time. The lasers have a wavelength of 589 nanometres, and MUSE has a special filter that blocks the light around that wavelength, as shown in the video, so that the lasers don’t contaminate the scientific data.

Click here for a more detailed description of this object.