Topline
A star is born: On its one-year anniversary, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope published an image capturing the formation of 50 young stars in vivid detail, including some that indicate the development of future planetary systems.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope displays the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming … [+] region to Earth.
Key Facts
The new Webb image features the closest star-forming region to us, at roughly 390 light-years from Earth.
The image includes 50 stars, all similar in size to the Sun or smaller, and highlights dark, dense areas where protostars are still forming.
According to NASA, the red areas in the image show bipolar jets of molecular hydrogen, which are emitted when a star first leaves its shrouding of cosmic dust—a moment NASA said is “like a newborn first stretching her arms out into the world.”
The S1 star, shown as a cloud of dust in the bottom half of the image, is the only star featured that is notably larger than the Sun.
Some stars shown also reveal “tell-tale shadows” of protoplanetary disks, which according to the space agency, could mean potential planetary systems being made.
Key Background
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched by NASA in 2021 and began releasing images about one year ago. It’s the first-ever space telescope that can capture far-infrared light, which is the long wavelength light we cannot see. The telescope’s NIRCAM, or Near-Infrared Camera, sees infrared light as heat, and works because of a super-cold sun-shield made of kapton that allows the instrument to recognize faint heat signals. The telescope’s giant mirror, six times the size of the Hubble Space Telescope, reflects infrared light, working with the NIRCAM to capture stunning images and provide us with unprecedented views into outer space. Unlike Hubble, which orbits the Earth, Webb is situated on the opposite side to the sun at a point called Lagrange Point 2 (L2), a fixed, cold position in space where gravity from the Sun and Earth can evenly balance the satellite. Since its inception, the Webb telescope has also produced other show-stopping images, such as its detailed portraits of Jupiter and Saturn.
Big Number
$10 Billion– that’s how much the Webb telescope cost NASA to build.
Further Reading
Webb Celebrates First Year of Science with Close-up on Birth of Sun-like Stars (NASA)
NASA Just Issued A Jaw-Dropping New Image From The Webb Telescope (Forbes)
Revealed: The Webb Telescope’s Jaw-Dropping New ‘Ultra Deep’ Image That Uses Warped Spacetime (Forbes)
