A Shocking Outflow
This image shows an outflow of gas from a new star as it jets from a space object dubbed IRAS 21078+5211. The reddish blob in its center, as picked up by the 4.5-micron infrared band on NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, contrasts nicely with the clouds, colored green here, that surround it. These so-called shocked outflows ram into the hydrogen gas around them and make it glow - a bright beacon in the lonely outskirts of the Milky Way.
This image is a combination of data from Spitzer and the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS). The Spitzer data was taken after Spitzer's liquid coolant ran dry in May 2009, marking the beginning of its "warm" mission. Light from Spitzer's remaining infrared channels at 3.6 and 4.5 microns has been represented in green and red, respectively. 2MASS observations at 2.2 microns are blue.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/2MASS/SSI/University of Wisconsin