The James Webb Space Telescope has captured thousands of young stars in the Tarantula Nebula that have never been seen before. The telescope is unveiling details of the nebula's structure and composition, as well as dozens of background galaxies. The stellar nursery 30 Doradus got its nickname, the Tarantula Nebula, due to its long, dusty filaments. It is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and hosts the hottest and most massive stars known. The centre of this image, acquired by Webb's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument, has been hollowed out by radiation from young, massive stars (seen in bright light blue). Only the densest surrounding regions of the nebula resist erosion, forming the pillars that appear to point back towards the star cluster at the centre. The pillars house stars still in the process of forming, which will eventually leave their dusty cocoons and contribute to the formation of the nebula. © NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

Driven by curiosity

Issue 42

Germany’s contribution to Europe’s science programme

Driven by curiosity Weiterlesen »