Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured stunning new images of the Orion Nebula, a diffuse nebula located approximately 1,350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion.
This image from Webb’s NIRCam short-wavelength channel shows the Orion Nebula, its stars, and many other objects in unprecedented high definition in the near infrared. Many of the young stars are surrounded by dense disks of gas and dust which may be forming planets. In other cases, those disks are being destroyed by the intense ultraviolet radiation and strong winds from the most massive stars in the region. Many of these photoevaporating disks are visible if you zoom into the image. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / M. McCaughrean / S. Pearson.
The Orion Nebula can be seen with the naked eye as a fuzzy patch surrounding the star Theta Orionis in the Hunter’s Sword, below Orion’s belt.
The nebula had been known since the beginnings of recorded astronomy as a star, but it is so outstanding that it was first noted as an extended nebula in 1610, only a year after Galileo Galilei’s first use of the telescope.
Detailed descriptions of the nebula started appearing later in the 17th century, and it has been a popular target for anyone with a telescope ever since.
Also known as NGC 1976, Messier 42, M42, LBN 974, and Sharpless 281, the Orion Nebula spans about 24 light-years.
At only 2 million years old, the object is an ideal laboratory for studying young stars and stars that are still forming.
It offers a glimpse of what might have happened when the Sun was born 4.6 billion years ago.
“At the core of the Orion Nebula is the young Trapezium Cluster of stars, the most massive of which illuminate the surrounding gas and dust with their intense ultraviolet radiation fields, while protostars continue to form today in the OMC-1 molecular cloud behind,” Webb astronomers said.
“The nebula is a treasure trove for astronomers studying the formation and early evolution of stars, with a rich diversity of phenomena and objects, including: outflows and planet-forming disks around young stars; embedded protostars; brown dwarfs; free-floating planetary mass objects; and photodissociation regions — the interface regions where the radiation from the massive stars heats, shapes and influences the chemistry of the gas.”
This image from Webb’s NIRCam long-wavelength channel reveals the gas, dust and molecules in the Orion Nebula with unprecedented sensitivity in infrared, but at lower spatial resolution than in the short-wavelength image. The cavity is mostly filled with ionized gas, seen here in purple, while the surroundings have a mix of dust and molecular gas seen in reds, browns, and greens. The Bright Bay to the upper left is being eroded by the massive stars and there are many pillars of gas and dust which are being carved. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / M. McCaughrean / S. Pearson.
The new imaging was obtained with Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and has been made into two mosaics, one each from the short and long wavelength channels.
A total of 2,400 individual images taken through five NIRCam short-wavelength filters were combined to make the full short-wavelength color composite view, while 712 individual images in six NIRCam long-wavelength filters were combined to obtain the long-wavelength one.
“These are among the largest Webb mosaics observed to date and given the high resolution and large area, they have been incorporated in ESASky to enable easy exploration of the plethora of interesting astronomical sources contained within them,” the astronomers said.
“The short-wavelength mosaic maximizes Webb’s angular resolution to reveal beautiful details in disks and outflows, while the long-wavelength one showcases the intricate network of dust and organic compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.”
“We encourage you to explore these images to see what hidden treasures you can find.”
