Detailed images of the Orion Nebula taken by the James Webb Telescope

  • Detailed images of the Orion Nebula were taken by the James Webb Telescope.
  • More than 100 scientists from 18 countries participated in the production of the images, per AFP.
  • Studying the nebula helps researchers better understand the formation of our solar system.

Newly released images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, show the Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery located 1,350 light-years from Earth, in stunning detail.

Pictures, Released on Monday by a team of international researchers, resulting from a collaboration of more than 100 scientists in 18 countries, It was reported by Agence France-Presse. Located in the constellation of Orion, the Orion Nebula shares an environment similar to that in which our solar system formed more than 4.5 billion years ago.

“We were amazed by the amazing images of the Orion Nebula,” he said. “We started this project in 2017, so we’ve been waiting for more than five years to get this data.” Astrophysicist Els Peters from Western University in Canada, one of the institutions involved in the project, in a statement from the college.

“These new observations allow us to better understand how massive stars transform the gas and dust cloud in which they were born,” she added.

While the cores of star nurseries like the Orion Nebula are impossible to study because they are covered in star dust, JWST takes in infrared light, allowing researchers to see through dust clouds.

The Orion Nebula as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope (right).

The Orion Nebula as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope (right).

NASA, ESA, CSA, and PDRs4All ERS Team; Image processing by Olivier Bernet.


The images are detailed enough to reveal structures within the nebula at scales comparable to the size of our solar system.

“We clearly see many dense filaments. These filamentous structures may promote a new generation of stars in the deeper regions of the dust and gas cloud. Star systems that are already forming also appear,” said Olivier Bernay, a researcher in French. The National Center for Scientific Research, according to a statement by Western University.

He added, “Inside its cocoon, young stars are clearly observed with a disk of dust and gas in which planets form in the nebula. Small cavities dug by new stars due to the intense radiation and stellar winds of emerging stars can also be seen.” .

in University of Michigan press releaseThe college’s head of astronomy, Edwin Bergen, said he and other researchers hope to “gain an understanding of the full cycle of star birth” from the images.

“In this image, we’re looking at this cycle where the first generation of stars is essentially radiating material for the next generation. The amazing structures we’re observing will explain in detail how the feedback cycle of stellar birth occurs in our galaxy and beyond,” he said.

The Inner Orion Nebula as seen through the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Inner Orion Nebula as seen through the James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA, ESA, CSA, Data Reduction and Analysis: PDRs4All ERS Team; Graphic processing by S. Fuenmayor & O. Berné


JWST was launched in December, JWST went into operation in July and since then has been in production amazing pictures subordinate Tarantula Nebula And the The aurora borealis of Jupiter. Earlier this year, JWST also Detecting water vapor On a planet the size of Jupiter 1150 light-years away.

In August, images from JWST were combined with those produced by the previous Hubble Space Telescope, to form Stunning new images from Phantom Galaxywhich belongs to a category known as the Great Design Spiral.

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