SPHEREx's Dust Cloud Reveal

In April 2025, just weeks after its launch, NASA's SPHEREx mission revealed a cloud of dust in a patch of sky inside the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way, when making observations in a specific infrared wavelength (3.29 microns). The difference between the images illustrates the power of multiwavelength observations for revealing hidden features of the universe – a key feature of SPHEREx. Observing individual wavelengths of light from cosmic sources is called spectroscopy. This technique can be used to reveal the composition of objects, because chemical elements and molecules leave a unique signature in the colors they absorb and emit. Spectroscopy can also help scientists measure how far away galaxies are, making it essential for SPHEREx's goal of mapping the locations of hundreds of millions of galaxies in 3D. SPHEREx detects infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, but is represented here in visible colors. The observatory will map the entire sky in 102 infrared colors (or wavelengths of light) to learn more about our universe. To do this, the mission images every object in the sky 102 times, each in a different wavelength. The spacecraft wil

Date

2025-05-01

Photographer / author

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Collection

JPL

Archive

NASA Image and Video Library

Type

photograph

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