Image 7-4
Cygnus Cloud DR22

This Spitzer telescope image shows cloud known as DR22. This area is bursting with new stars in the Cygnus region of the sky. Spitzer's infrared eyes can both see through and see dust, giving it a unique view into star-forming areas. The blue areas are dusty clouds, and the orange is mainly hot gas. This image is one of the first to be taken during Spitzer's warm mission, a new phase that began after the telescope ran out of liquid coolant. The image was taken with the two infrared channels that still work at the still-quite-chilly temperature of 30 Kelvin (about minus 406 Fahrenheit).