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We recently wrote about the image of the James Webb space telescope become “viral” these days: this is the star WR 140 which will soon be the subject of a study that will be published. Just in these hours one arrived spectacular new image both for scientists but also for enthusiasts who are following the events related to the new scientific instrument which is located 1.5 million km from the Earth.
This is a new view of the Tarantula Nebula. Thanks to the potential of the JWST and its ability to capture infrared, the nebulae are now clearer than was possible with visible (and partially infrared) observation with, for example, the Hubble Space Telescope. This is because in addition to the optical performance available with such a large primary mirror, infrared is able to pass through areas with dust revealing details in areas that are usually not visible. In mid-June, always there Tarantula Nebula it had been the subject of a new image released thanks to ALMA from ESO, but the level of detail is now astonishing.
The James Webb Space Telescope and the image of the Tarantula Nebula
Although the image was released in these hours, it was actually captured in the first part of the observation campaign and could have been inserted into the “package” which was unveiled on July 12. The space agencies (NASA, ESA and CSA), however, chose other subjects to surprise the public that time, even if this image of the Tarantula Nebula probably has arrived “second” just a little.
Click on the image to enlarge, 18 MB (JWST NIRCam)
In particular, thanks to the James Webb space telescope it was possible to observe for the first time thousands of new stars inside the stellar forge known as 30 Doradus (another name of the nebula together with NGC 2070 and C 103). Always exploiting the potential of JWST even the galaxies in the background of this portion of the sky are now visible as are the details of dust and gas that form particular patterns and structures. As written “a feast for the eyes” for enthusiasts and a source of new information for scientists.
This nebula is located 161,000 light-years from Earth, in the Large Magellanic Cloud. In particular the Tarantula Nebula it is known to be among the most active regions in Local Group star formation. The space telescope took both NIRCam that MIRI beyond NIRSpec to capture details at different wavelengths and with different filters to get a complete picture.
With the latter tool, for example, it was possible to analyze very small regions. Here, thanks to filters at different wavelengths such as 1.87 µm, 2.12 µm and 3.3 µm, it was possible to understand the distribution of atomic and molecular hydrogen and hydrocarbon clouds, respectively. Thanks to the resolution of the James Webb space telescope it was possible to see a young star that has not yet completely removed the dust around it and then studied its effects on the surrounding areas.
The contribution of NIRCam and MIRI
NIRCam instead he highlighted the structure that looks like a spider’s web, formed by dust and gas swept away by the young blue stars that are seen near the center of the image. The different densities shapes the structures that in turn hide forming protostars that, in millions of years, will be visible by sweeping away the dust.
Image by MIRI of the JWST
The use of MIRIanother tool of the James Webb space telescope. In this case, changing the infrared wavelength also changes the display. Here, more than the stars, there are areas of cold gas, dust and portions rich in hydrocarbons. Despite everything, the protostars still manage to show their presence as small luminous dots thanks also to the use of the mid-infrared, able to better penetrate the dust. Finally the darker areas are even denser and not even here JWST And MIRI they can reveal what is hidden (even if they are probably new stars in the making). For those wishing to immerse themselves in the vision of the Tarantula Nebula, it has been made available a large image in TIFF format: attention, that’s almost 125 MB!
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