Updated
Updated · NASA · Jun 18
James Webb Captures 150-Light-Year Orion Star-Formation Panorama
Updated
Updated · NASA · Jun 18

James Webb Captures 150-Light-Year Orion Star-Formation Panorama

3 articles · Updated · NASA · Jun 18

Summary

  • A June 5 image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows a small section of the Orion Molecular Clouds containing every major stage of star formation.
  • The 150-light-year scene spans cold gas and dust beyond the Orion Nebula, tracing objects from stellar embryos to protoplanetary discs to newly formed pre-main-sequence stars.
  • NASA said the image highlights Orion as a dense stellar nursery where multiple phases of star birth can be observed within a single region.

Insights

A new star-birth theory was just proposed. Does Webb's latest image from Orion finally confirm it?
How does this stellar nursery reveal the chemical recipe for building new planets and the potential for life?
Beyond the stunning visuals, what violent cosmic jets are shaping the birth of suns and solar systems in Orion?