This composite image of the Orion A Giant Molecular Cloud star-forming complex shows infrared emission from the WISE and MSX missions in 4 micron (red), 12 micron (blue), and 22 micron (green) emission with Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey 1.1mm emission overlaid in yellow/orange. The Orion A region is frequently featured in astronomical images:
but its tail tends to be ignored. This quiescent region is the source of the next generation of stars, although the relatively small mass concentrations imply that no massive stars like the bright Theta 1C that powers the Orion Nebula will form. The infrared colors show all sorts of stars including protostars. The infrared can pierce through the dust and find young stars still forming. The green and blue bands also see diffuse clouds of dust being illuminated by the central stars of the Orion nebula. The yellow 1.1 mm dust emission shows the coldest dust that is shielded from external radiation. These cold clumps contain enough mass to form new stars...