Head of the Orion Constellation, WISE image

Infrared WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) image of the head of the constellation Orion, the star Lambda Orionis (fuzzy red dot at centre) surrounded by a giant nebula. Lambda Orionis is a hot, massive star surrounded by several other hot, massive stars, all of which are creating radiation that excites a ring of dust, forming the Lambda Orionis molecular ring (also known as SH 2-264, or the Meissa ring). The Meissa ring is of interest to astronomers because it is a large star-forming region. The bright blue star at bottom left is the star Betelgeuse, which represents one shoulder of Orion. In WISE's infrared view it appears blue because most stars, including Betelgeuse, put out more light in the shortest infrared wavelengths of light captured by WISE, and those shorter wavelengths are presented in WISE images as blue and cyan. Green and red colours represent mainly radiation from warm dust.