The Webb team has released a beautiful image of a small star-forming region in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.
This Webb image shows a part of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming region to Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Klaus Pontoppidan, STScI.
The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is a collection of interstellar clouds and different nebulae in the constellation Ophiuchus.
At an estimated distance of 460 light-years, it is one of the closest star-forming regions to our Solar System.
The new Webb image shows a small region in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex containing approximately 50 young stars, all of them similar in mass to the Sun, or smaller.
The darkest areas are the densest, where thick dust cocoons still-forming protostars.
Huge bipolar jets of molecular hydrogen, represented in red, dominate the image, appearing horizontally across the upper third and vertically on the right.
These occur when a star first bursts through its natal envelope of cosmic dust, shooting out a pair of opposing jets into space like a newborn first stretching her arms out into the world.
“In just one year, James has transformed humanity’s view of the cosmos, peering into dust clouds and seeing light from faraway corners of the Universe for the very first time,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
“Every new image is a new discovery, empowering scientists around the globe to ask and answer questions they once could never dream of.”
“On its first anniversary, Webb has already delivered upon its promise to unfold the Universe, gifting humanity with a breathtaking treasure trove of images and science that will last for decades,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
“An engineering marvel built by the world’s leading scientists and engineers, Webb has given us a more intricate understanding of galaxies, stars, and the atmospheres of planets outside of our Solar System than ever before, laying the groundwork for NASA to lead the world in a new era of scientific discovery and the search for habitable worlds.”
“Webb’s image of Rho Ophiuchi allows us to witness a very brief period in the stellar lifecycle with new clarity,” said Webb project scientist Dr. Klaus Pontoppidan, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute.
“Our own Sun experienced a phase like this, long ago, and now we have the technology to see the beginning of another’s star’s story.”
“Some stars in the image display tell-tale shadows indicating protoplanetary disks — potential future planetary systems in the making.”
