James Webb Telescope Unveils Clear, Breathtaking Star Formation Ballet Image

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Check out the latest image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This time, the telescope focused on a pair of young stars called Herbig-Haro 46/47, which are actively forming. Using near-infrared light, JWST took its most detailed picture of these stars yet.

Situated in the constellation Vela, Herbig-Haro 46/47 are located about 1470 light-years away from us. These stars are growing by consuming a disk made of gas and dust. For thousands of years, they have been releasing jets in opposite directions. Thanks to the stars’ relatively close distance to Earth and the combination of multiple exposures, Webb was able to capture a clear and detailed image of them.

In the image, the stars are hidden in the center and surrounded by bright orange lobes. This orange glow is the material that the stars expelled while growing. These jets vary in size and speed, depending on the amount of material they acquired at different times.

The picture also reveals a dense mixture of gas and dust, known as a Bok globule, appearing as a blue cloud. This cloud affects the shape of the stars’ jets, making them illuminate when they come into contact with the molecules in the cloud.

Although it may seem like Webb took the image from the side of Herbig-Haro 46/47, one side, surprisingly, slightly angles toward Earth. According to ESA, it’s the smaller right half. Over millions of years, these stars will fully develop, allowing their beautiful and colorful jets to shine against a backdrop filled with galaxies.