Chandra Release - August 12, 2009

Visual Description: Cepheus B

The composite image of  the molecular cloud Cepheus B features a dark, starry sky with a dramatic pinkish-reddish gas cloud reaching up from the bottom of the image to the center, like a jagged mountain reaching for the sky. The gas cloud is almost shaped like a pyramid, with its tip pointing towards the top.  The texture of the gas cloud resembles a fluffy, cotton-candy-like substance, and there are speckles of bright purple and green in the “sky” area up top. This composite image combines data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (purple dots) and the Spitzer Space Telescope (red gas and green dots) shows a region containing cool interstellar gas and dust.  The gas and dust are left over from the formation of the galaxy and mostly contain molecular hydrogen. The Spitzer data outline the molecular cloud (in the bottom part of the image) plus young stars in and around Cepheus B, and the Chandra data in purple shows the young stars in the field.