Science
Space photo of the week: James Webb telescope catches baby stars roaring to life
What it is: The Serpens Nebula
Where it is: 1,300 light-years away, in the constellation Serpens
When it was shared: Aug. 12, 2024
Why it's so special: This is a new image of an old favorite, the Serpens Nebula, where a cloud of gas and dust is lit up by starlight. Using its infrared capabilities, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) now reveals the source of that light: newborn stars.
The place to look in this image, taken with JWST's Near Infrared Camera, is the top-left corner. The bright-red streaks are jets of gas from newborn stars smacking into the surrounding gas and dust, creating shock waves. Crucially, they all slant in the same direction.
That's important because it provides evidence for the theory that when clouds of dust and gas collapse to form stars, all of those stars spin in the same direction. The trouble is, before JWST was around to observe in the infrared — to pierce thick clouds of dust and gas — it wasn't possible to see newborn stars or their jets in optical wavelengths, so it was impossible to confirm that theory.
Related: 35 jaw-dropping James Webb Space Telescope images
-
Science2d ago
How Two Stranded Astronauts Are Camping Out in Space
-
Science2d ago
'Golden spike' showing the moment Earth turned into a giant snowball discovered in ancient Scottish rocks
-
Science2d ago
Earth’s days were once 2 hours longer — and that may have triggered one of the biggest evolutionary explosions in history, study suggests
-
Science2d ago
Dinosaur-killing asteroid was a rare rock from beyond Jupiter, new study reveals
-
Science3d ago
When Are the Astronauts ‘Stuck’ in Space Coming Home? It May Not Be Until 2025
-
Science3d ago
Climate change may allow the Earth’s oldest, tiniest creatures to dominate — and that's seriously bad news
-
Science3d ago
1st 'blue supermoon' of 2024 rises Monday: How to see the 'Sturgeon Moon' at its biggest and best
-
Science3d ago
James Webb telescope detects signs of rust on priceless, metal-rich asteroid Psyche