ESAWebb Images

Collage of cutouts of star-forming region IC 348 (Webb NIRCam image)

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This collage features a collection of cutouts from the massive star-forming region IC 348. Each of these six panels showcase features of interest that are visible throughout the field.

1: Star embedded in a nebula — This small portion of the field contains two stars deeply embedded in a cloud of gas and dust. The large star’s shorter-wavelength infrared light is absorbed by the dust, leaving it brightest at longer wavelengths, which are coloured orange; the same dust absorption creates the silhouettes in the image.

2: Central star cluster — The centre of IC 348 is dominated by wispy curtains of gas that form a large loop. Winds from the many stars sculpt the clouds of interstellar gas and dust, and the clouds reflect the light from the cluster’s stars — what is known as a reflection nebula.

3: Stars and faint outflows — Here on the outskirts of the field, two stars shine out of clouds of gas and dust. The stars appear equally bright, but the orange one is more deeply embedded. Thin red arcs and blotches near the stars are hot, glowing shockwaves created by fast-moving outbursts from the stars.

4: Herbig-Haro objects — This relatively small region near the top of the image is packed with long, glowing outflows and bold colours in the waves of gas and dust. The outflows, known as Herbig-Haro objects, are created by stellar winds or jets from protostars ploughing into the thick clouds around them. No less than three objects in this area have previously been the subjects of their own images, demonstrating how rich an area of star formation this is.

5: Gravitational lensing — This tiny object, at first glance appearing almost like a planet with a ring, is in fact two galaxies. The blue one is closer to us, and the orange galaxy is very far away behind it but lined up just right. This causes the light from the orange galaxy to be bent by the gravity of the blue galaxy, creating a magnified, warped image.

6: Spiral galaxies — Some of the more prominent galaxies that can be seen behind the clouds of gas and dust. While the IC 348 region is around 1000 light-years from Earth, these galaxies are millions of light-years away, and the even smaller galaxies that appear as coloured dots in the background are up to billions of light-years distant.

[Image description: A collage, with three large panels along the top and four smaller ones on the bottom. The middle panel on top shows star-forming region IC 348. Six boxes are drawn around features in the region, numbered 1–6. The other six panels are numbered and show these features enlarged. They include bright stars throughout the nebula, protostars shooting jets of gas, a distant spiral galaxy, and a gravitational lens.]

Star-forming region IC 348 (NIRCam image)

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope recently observed IC 348, a star-forming region just 1000 light-years away. This is one of the largest Webb images released to the public so far. This near-infrared vista of IC 348 reveals a collection of objects called brown dwarfs, which are smaller than the smallest stars.

Researchers used the unparalleled sensitivity of Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) to track down the smallest brown dwarfs in IC 348, which weigh in at just just twice the mass of Jupiter. These are the least massive brown dwarfs known, and their existence poses challenges to models of how stars form.

In addition to the brown dwarfs and young stars scattered across the swirling nebula, this image provides a unique perspective on a handful of protostars, which can be seen in the upper-right corner. These protostars are ejecting powerful jets that have crashed into the gas and dust surrounding them, creating luminous regions called Herbig-Haro objects.

[Image Description: A star-forming region. It is blanketed in thick clouds of gas and dust, millions of kilometres across, that form swirling patterns. Bright stars are scattered throughout the clouds, with the densest cluster situated in the centre of the scene. Each is crowned with six long points created by the optics of the telescope’s mirrors. In the upper right, a couple of hidden stars blast out long, glowing jets of material.]

IC 348 Crop: Central star cluster

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar gas and dust reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars — what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. The bright star closest to the centre of the frame is actually a pair of type B stars in a binary system, the most massive stars in the cluster. Winds from these stars may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view.

You can view the full image from which this crop was taken here.

[Image description: Wispy, criss-crossing filaments fill the scene, creating dense and highly textured layers of gas in colours from green to yellow to orange and pink. Above the centre, the filaments join into a large loop, while below they bend and create wave-like curves. Dozens of bright stars are layered atop the gas, a pair in the centre being particularly bright; all sport six long and two short spikes of light, created by the telescope’s optics.]

IC 348 Crop: Spiral galaxies

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows a few of the spiral galaxies that can be seen behind the clouds of gas that make up the nebula around IC 348. The nebula is located around 1000 light-years from Earth: these spiral galaxies are a thousand times further away than that, being millions of light-years distant. The small, featureless dots in the background are further galaxies, and these are a thousand times further away again, at distances up to billions of light-years from Earth.

You can view the full image from which this crop was taken here.

[Image description: A dark region of space. In the centre lies a relatively purple-coloured spiral galaxy, with two thick, loosely-wound arms that each end in a long tail. Two smaller, more irregularly-shaped spiral galaxies in similar colours are visible in the corner. Dozens of distant galaxies in the background are little more than misshapen, colourful dots; there are also a few stars with bright cores.]

IC 348 Crop: Gravitational lensing

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows an example of gravitational lensing hidden in the background of the star-forming region IC 348.

The round blue dot in the centre of the image is a distant galaxy. The orange line which arcs around it on one side, and the small orange loop touching its centre, are both images of another, even more distant galaxy behind it. Because this orange galaxy lines up just right behind the blue galaxy, the blue galaxy acts like a lens: its gravity bends the path of the light emitted by the orange galaxy, creating these warped images.

You can view the full image from which this crop was taken here.

[Image description: A close-up of a galaxy among the greenish gas clouds of IC 348. The galaxy appears like a round blue dot. An orange line bends around the bottom-right of the dot, appearing to warp to avoid touching it; a second, smaller orange line forms a loop touching the core of the galaxy. These two lines are images of the same distant background galaxy, made by gravitational lensing.]

IC 348 Crop: Herbig-Haro objects

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows stars and protostars in the vicinity of the star cluster IC 348. The long, narrow object that is oriented horizontally on the left side of this image is HH 797, which was featured previously as a Webb Picture of the Month. Upon close inspection, this source is revealed to be two protostars with nearly parallel outflows. To the right and oriented diagonally is the propeller-shaped source HH 211, which features both narrow jets and broader outflows, and was also showcased in a previous image release.

The glowing orange area directly above HH 797, named LLRL 54361, has been the subject of an image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope; it’s thought to host two further protostars. A number of other more- and less-embedded protostars lurk in this nebula, contributing to the edges and wave-like patterns in the clouds, as well as further spectacular glowing outflows.

The wispy curtains in the bottom left of the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster’s stars — what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.

You can view the full image from which this crop was taken here.

[Image description: A star-forming nebula that contains young stars called protostars. Two of these protostars are shooting out long jets that are colliding with the nebula, creating glowing, colourful outflows. A few other protostars create orange and red areas in the nebula. Most of the image is covered by blue gas, with brighter areas, denser clouds and dark gaps; the bottom-left corner contains greenish-yellow gas.]

IC 348 Crop: Stars and faint outflows

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This image showcases a portion of the larger IC 348 field to highlight two stars among the outskirts of the nebula. These two stars appear equally-sized, because they are similarly bright, but one is orange while the other is blue. The reason for this is that the orange star is more deeply embedded in the clouds of interstellar gas and dust; these clouds block more of the shorter-wavelength infrared light that the star emits, leaving the longer wavelengths, which are coloured orange in this image. The other star is less shrouded, so the shorter and longer infrared wavelengths combine to make it appear whitish-blue. While it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of gas or dust here, the thin red arcs and faint blotches that can be seen around the stars are shockwaves made in that gas. Outbursts from the young stars crash into the interstellar gas, compressing and heating it up until it glows.

The bright lines appearing to radiate out from these stars are a type of distortion that arises from the optical design of the telescope. Called diffraction spikes, they are created because the intense light from the unresolved target is bent (“diffracted”) very slightly at the edges of Webb’s hexagonal mirror panels and around one of the struts that hold up its secondary mirror. This distinctive six-plus-two-pointed pattern is the same for any image taken by Webb. For diffraction spikes to appear, the light source has to be very bright and very concentrated, so they’re most often seen on stars.

You can view the full image from which this crop was taken here.

[Image description: Two bright stars, one golden and one more white in colour, in a mostly-dark area of space. Diffuse, dark blue gas clouds curl around the stars, with dark bands of empty space cutting through the clouds. Thin red arcs near the stars are hot shockwaves in the gas. The background is filled with many small objects in blue, green or yellow; most are distant galaxies.]

IC 348 Crop: Star embedded in a nebula

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This image showcases a portion of the larger IC 348 field to highlight two stars embedded within a cloud of gas and dust. The central star, despite being brighter and appearing larger than its companion to the lower-right, is in fact more deeply wrapped in the clouds of gas and dust. These clouds block more of the shorter-wavelength infrared light that the star emits, leaving it brightest in the longer wavelengths, which in this image are coloured orange. The smaller star is less shrouded, so the shorter and longer infrared wavelengths combine to make it appear whitish-blue. The galaxies seen in the background are thousands of times further away from Earth than these two stars.

You can view the full image from which this crop was taken here.

[Image description: A star embedded within a cloud of gas and dust. The star is a very bright point in the centre of the image. It radiates six long and two short orange spikes of light, caused by the telescope's optics. Most of the gas behind it is blue and wispy, but below the star is a patch of bold yellow and red gas in a butterfly-shape. A few glowing shockwaves made by fast-moving gas surround the star. Small, whitish galaxies appear in the distance.]

Arp 263 (crop)

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

The latest ESA/Webb Picture of the Month is a new, infrared look into the strange final phase of a galactic merger. Arp 263, an irregular galaxy, lies in the constellation Leo at a relatively nearby distance of around 25 million light-years.

This version of the image is adjusted for comparison with Hubble’s view of Arp 263 — see them together here.

[Image Description: An irregular galaxy, appearing like a broad band of tiny stars. It is much denser on one side, with a faint cloud of gas among the stars. Clumps of brighter points are newly formed stars, with the largest lights being star clusters. Shells of glowing orange dust surround the clumps. A foreground star appears very large and bright. A few distant galaxies appear in the background.]

Starstruck image of Arp 263

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

This image shows Hubble’s visible-light view of Arp 263, originally released in 2023. Here, “irregular clumps” in the galaxy are revealed to be bright nebulae between its dense clouds of gas, where stars are forming. Milky Way star BD+17 2217 appears in the foreground as a stellar photobomber.

The black region visible in the corners appears because this image was cropped and rotated to align with Webb’s image of the galaxy; see and compare the two images with our slider tool here.

[Image Description: An irregular galaxy that appears like a triangle-shaped patch of tiny stars. It is densest in the centre and along one edge, growing faint out to the opposite corner. Several bright pink patches mark areas of star formation, and the galaxy’s brightest stars are around these. A large, bright star, with two sets of long spikes, stands between the viewer and the galaxy.]

Striking star clusters and irregular clumps

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

Originally discovered in 1784 and also catalogued as NGC 3239, this galaxy was included in American astronomer Halton Arp’s Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies in 1966, as possibly one of the most remarkable and strange galaxies in the sample. Arp categorised it with the galaxies featuring “irregular clumps”. In 2023, the galaxy was featured in an image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, where these clumps are revealed to be bright nebulae between the galaxy’s dense clouds of gas, where stars are forming.

Arp 263 is believed to result from a past galactic merger. Apart from its unusual distorted shape, astronomers have noticed a few features that point to this. It has two short, curved tails of stars, beyond the field of view of this Webb image, which are a feature that’s associated with gravitational interactions. However, there are no nearby galaxies that Arp 263 could be interacting with now. The stars in the galaxy are oriented differently to its hydrogen gas, where they would normally be symmetric, and parts of that gas are moving at different velocities to each other. And, of course, the widespread formation of new stars across Arp 263 is typical of a galaxy whose gas has been seriously shaken up.

Although Arp 263 clearly hasn’t yet settled into a more regular shape after its gravitational tug-of-war, its former companion galaxy is now nowhere to be found. It’s possible that this was a dwarf galaxy small enough to have been already completely dissolved into the larger Arp 263 — or that its companion was simply much more heavy than it was bright, making it difficult to spot as a remnant.

This new image from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) reveals an entirely different view of Arp 263, taking us inside the thick gas crowding the galaxy to see the many stars scattered there. These old stars contrast with the several areas of star birth, where multitudes of new stars are forming in numerous clusters. Dust spread throughout the galaxy glows with the light, here shown in red, emitted by complex molecules; around the star-forming regions we also see — in blue colours — hydrogen gas, ionised by starlight and emitting its own light in turn. The most intense area of star formation features a curved chain of compact star clusters, leading to the largest and brightest star-forming nebula. Webb allows us to peek into this stellar nursery and see the stars that have formed within.

The brightest of the bright spots in Arp 263 is a shining star, named BD+17 2217. It appears so large and bright, with long diffraction spikes created by the telescope’s optics, because it is part of our own galaxy. The galaxies that appear in the background are much more distant, most hundreds of millions of light-years away from both us and Arp 263. A few of these galaxies are identifiable as spiral galaxies, but Webb’s NIRCam reveals the hundreds of much more distant galaxies lurking in the background as orange dots.

This image was made with data from observing programme #3707 (PI: Leroy), a survey of the nearby, large, star-forming galaxies in the southern sky. These galaxies are close enough that Webb’s sharp vision can deliver a detailed picture of the stars, star clusters and interstellar dust within the galaxy. The observations will be used to better understand the cycle of star formation and how it plays out across galaxies; Arp 263, with its disturbed disc of gas and its chaotic star formation, presents a unique and fascinating target for these investigations.

[Image Description: An irregular galaxy, appearing like a broad band of tiny stars. It is denser on one side, with a faint cloud of gas among the stars. Clumps of brighter points are newly formed stars, with the largest lights being star clusters, and with many surrounded in glowing blue gas clouds. Plumes of red dust surround the galaxy. A foreground star appears very large and bright. A few distant galaxies appear in the background.]

IRS 3 Field (NIRCam and MIRI image)

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

This image features data from Webb’s NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument) to capture the most detailed mid-infrared view yet of the field that hosts the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole.

An international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to this supermassive black hole. The observations reveal that the evolved star IRS 3 continues to enrich its surroundings with newly formed material despite the intense radiation environment around Sagittarius A*.

The data in this image were taken with Webb programmes #1939 (J. Lu), #3571 (F. Yusef-Zadeh), #2491 (N. B. Sabha), and #2075 (C. Chan).

[Image description: A dense star field fills the entire image, with countless stars scattered across a backdrop of glowing clouds in shades of red, orange, pink, white, and blue. At the centre, a brilliant concentration of stars creates a bright, almost white core surrounded by intricate filaments and wisps of illuminated gas and dust that radiate outward. Dark, irregular patches of opaque dust interrupt the glowing clouds, particularly toward the left side of the image, where they appear as silhouetted shapes against the brighter background. The surrounding stellar population varies in brightness and colour, with cool blue stars and warmer orange and red stars distributed throughout the scene.]

IRS 3 Field (MIRI image)

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

This image features data from Webb’s MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument) to capture the most detailed mid-infrared view yet of the field that hosts the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole.

The data in this image were taken with Webb programmes #3571 (F. Yusef-Zadeh), #2491 (N. B. Sabha), and #2075 (C. Chan).

[Image description: A bright, densely populated star cluster lies near the centre of the image, surrounded by intricate clouds of glowing gas and dust in shades of red, pink, orange, and blue. Dark lanes of dust weave through the nebula, contrasting with the luminous central region. Countless stars are scattered across the field, with a few brighter foreground stars showing Webb's characteristic diffraction spikes. An irregular black region occupies the lower-right corner of the image, indicating an area where no observational data was available.]

Star IRS 3 (close-up NIRCam image)

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

This image shows a close-up of the surrounding region of the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole.

The data in this image were taken with Webb programme #1939 (J. Lu).

Location of star IRS 3

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

This image showcases the location of the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole. The images show a progressinvely closer view of the region using ground- and space-based data.

Location of star IRS 3

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

This image showcases the location of the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole.

The data in this image were taken with Webb programmes #1939 (J. Lu), #3571 (F. Yusef-Zadeh), #2491 (N. B. Sabha), and #2075 (C. Chan).

IRS 3 Field (NIRCam image)

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

This image features data from Webb’s NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) to capture the most detailed mid-infrared view yet of the field that hosts the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole.

The data in this image were taken with Webb programme #1939 (J. Lu).

[Image description: A densely packed field of stars fills the image, with a bright cluster of stars near the centre surrounded by glowing clouds of gas and dust in soft shades of red, pink, and white. Dark patches of dust appear scattered throughout the scene, contrasting with the luminous background. Several bright foreground stars display Webb's distinctive six-pointed diffraction spikes, while countless fainter stars extend across the entire image.]

Lion Nebula (MIRI image)

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0200

The James Webb Space Telescope observed planetary nebula NGC 2392 in mid-infrared light, revealing the presence of dust and its varying structures within this tumultuous environment. Nicknamed the Lion Nebula due to its appearance, this collection of gas and dust is created and sculpted by the remains of a dying star, which is in the center and resembles the button nose of the lion.

While some dust is being destroyed by the bubble of ionized gas that forms the lion’s face, most of the gas is being ejected and migrating away from the star due to its radiation. In this image, cyan highlights the lion’s mane, which is the interior of a dust shell that is being illuminated by the central star. Within the mane, toward its edges, are purple clumps that look like they have cometary tails. These fluffy structures are also dust, which have managed to survive so far and protect the structures behind them.

[Image description: Planetary nebula NGC 2392, also called the Lion Nebula, against the black background of space. The nebula is in the centre, circular in shape, and looks like a male lion’s head. In the very centre is a small, bluish-white circle with eight-point diffraction spikes, a white dwarf star. Surrounding the star are light purple-red cavernous bubbles and shell-like rings. The bubbles and shells collectively form an oval with two small, wide arcs near the top, reminiscent of a lion’s face and its ears. What appears to be extended outward from the lion’s face is a thick ring of cyan material. The width of the ring is consistent throughout and resembles a mane. The area closest to the lion’s face looks cloudy, while the edges of the mane look like there are purple clumps of dust with comet-like tails and strands. In the background are distant galaxies and stars. Some galaxies appear as small purple points of light and others with visible blue spiral structures. A couple of the stars have diffraction spikes.]

Lion Nebula (NIRCam + MIRI image)

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0200

The James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged planetary nebula NGC 2392, which is nicknamed the Lion Nebula due to its distinct shape. This near- and mid-infrared composite image reveals the complex structure of the nebula, which has formed and continues to be sculpted by the remains of a dying star. The stellar core, also known as a white dwarf, is located at the centre and looks like the button nose of the lion.

The central dying star is so hot that its radiation is “cooking” everything from the inside and producing a bubble of ionized hydrogen gas as it does. The gas bubble, which is the lion’s “face,” features cavernous shells and rings with tendrils that are expanding and destroying dust upon encounter.

However, not all dust is obliterated from the scene. The lion’s mane is the interior of a dust shell that is being illuminated by the central star’s core. Within the mane some compact clumps of dust (red and orange) have managed to survive so far and are protecting the material that lies behind them. Additional clumps of molecular hydrogen appear yellow.

The Lion Nebula is a snapshot in time. It’s taken several thousand years for the gas and dust to be shaped in this way, and it continues to change as the star drives away the material. Astronomers estimate NGC 2392 will eventually disperse in about 10,000 years, which is a relatively short period in astronomical terms.

[Image description: Planetary nebula NGC 2392, also called the Lion Nebula, against the black background of space. The nebula is in the centre, circular in shape, and looks like a male lion’s head. In the very centre is a small, pinkish-white circle with eight-point diffraction spikes, a white dwarf star. Surrounding the star are light purple-pink cavernous bubbles and shell-like rings. The bubbles and shells collectively form an oval with two small, wide arcs near the top, reminiscent of a lion’s face and its ears. What appears to be extended outward from the lion’s face is a thick ring of purple-blue material. The width of the ring is consistent throughout and resembles a mane. The area closest to the lion’s face looks cloudy, while the edges of the mane look like there are clumps of dust with comet-like tails and strands. In the background are distant galaxies and stars. Some galaxies appear as small yellow and orange points of light and others with visible spiral structures. A couple of the stars have diffraction spikes.]

Webb opens a Treasure Chest filled with stars

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

This NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month takes us to a fantastical realm within our home galaxy, where piercing starlight and billowing winds sculpt dust clouds into inventive shapes. This scene is from the Carina Nebula, which lies just 7500 light-years away in the constellation Carina (the Keel).

Spanning roughly 260 light-years, the nebula is home to an incredible collection of objects, including the Cosmic Cliffs revealed in the first-ever Webb image release. The Carina Nebula is also the nearest high-mass star-forming region that allows astronomers to study the full range of star formation. This nebula houses some of the most massive stars in our galaxy as well as tens of thousands of protostars, offering a valuable opportunity to understand how stars shape their neighbourhoods.

The feature highlighted in today’s image, aptly called the Treasure Chest, looks right at home in this celestial sculpture garden. The Treasure Chest is what’s known as a cometary globule. A cometary globule is an isolated cloud of gas and dust with a dense, dark head and a sweeping tail. These clouds often somewhat resemble comets, but the Treasure Chest looks distinctly like a wooden chest with its lid wide open.

However, this chest doesn’t contain jewels or gold coins, but instead a compact cluster of young stars. These stars are responsible for the otherworldly glow coming from within the Treasure Chest, revealed by Webb’s sensitive Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). Researchers estimate that the Treasure Chest’s cluster contains about 70 stars, the most massive of which is a rare O-type star roughly 19 times as massive as the Sun.

The star cluster is likely around 1.3 million years old, though earlier estimates found it to be as young as just 100 000 years old. Because of its youth, the cluster is still deeply embedded within the dusty clouds of the Treasure Chest. The individual stars in the cluster are wrapped up in dust as well; astronomers have found evidence that many of these stars are surrounded by circumstellar discs. Over time, the brilliant starlight from these young stars will dissipate the surrounding cloud and reveal the entire cluster.

The key to the Treasure Chest’s sculptural shape lies outside this image: just 39 light-years to the northwest, as measured on the sky, sits Eta Carinae, the most luminous object in the entire Carina Nebula. Eta Carinae is a star system containing at least two stars, one of which is 100 times as massive as the Sun. This star alone is about 5 million times as luminous as the Sun. Adding to this intense radiation is the nearby star cluster Trumpler 16, which also contains several extremely hot massive stars.

The radiation and winds from these massive stars are largely responsible for the current appearance of the Treasure Chest, though the star cluster embedded within it is also eating away at the cloud from within. There’s some debate as to which came first, the cometary shape of the cloud or the star cluster it contains. The likeliest scenario suggests that the star cluster formed first in a cloud of gas that was larger than the Treasure Chest is today. Then, the powerful stellar feedback from nearby stars whisked away the less-dense gas, leaving behind only the denser gas that makes up the Treasure Chest.

With Webb, astronomers have carried out an observing programme (#5408; PI: Reiter) dedicated to studying how young stars in the Carina Nebula collect gas from their surroundings and expel it through outflows. These observations from Webb will help astronomers understand how young stars impact their environments, allowing them to craft spectacular scenes like this one.

[Image Description: A region of space filled with bright stars and clouds of gas. In the centre, the densest clouds form the shape of a chest with its lid open. The chest appears to glow from within. At its base it breaks apart into long pillars of thick gas. Many of the gas clouds in the background are dark orange globules, while others form large, pale hazes. A few brightly shining stars lie in the foreground, the biggest and brightest in front of the chest’s lid.]

Beta Pictoris system (NIRSpec IFU image and spectrum)

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0200

Researchers used the NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) Integral Field Unit on the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to map chemical contents of the Beta Pictoris system. As a result, they discovered a third planet, Beta Pictoris d, orbiting the young star.

Instead of identifying the planet as a bright point of light, as seen in the reconstructed image, researchers searched the spectroscopic data for the molecular signatures expected from a giant planet atmosphere, allowing the object to stand out from the surrounding debris disc.

The extracted NIRSpec and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) spectra of Beta Pictoris d display a distinctive series of carbon monoxide (CO) absorption lines. This molecular “fingerprint” identified the object as a giant planet, while measurements of the Doppler shift of the spectral lines provided the planet’s radial velocity, confirming it is gravitationally bound to the Beta Pictoris system.

[Image description: The image at the left shows two exoplanets of the Beta Pictoris system. At the centre, there is a white star symbol, which represents light blocked from the host star. Immediately to the left of the star symbol, there is a bright orange-whitesh smudge, labeled b. To the right of the star symbol is a blurry orange smudge labeled d. There is a white circle around this smudge with lines drawn to the spectrum at the right. The x-axis is labeled “Wavelength of Light” and extends from 4.2 to 5.2 microns. The y-axis is labeled “Brightness.” An up arrow is labeled “brighter,” a down arrow “dimmer.” There are two jagged horizontal lines across the graph. One is white, the other is maroon (the former labeled “Webb data”, the latter labeled “Best fit model” in the bottom left corner). A blue vertical column spanning from about 4.3 microns to 5 microns is labeled Carbon Monoxide, CO.]

Centaurus A (annotated MIRI image)

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Annotated image of the active galaxy Centaurus A captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), with compass arrows, a scale bar, and colour key for reference.

The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).

The scale bar is labeled in light-years.

This image shows invisible mid-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colours. The colour key shows which MIRI filters were used when collecting the light. The colour of each filter name is the visible light colour used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.

[Image description: Annotated image of galaxy Centaurus A captured by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), with compass arrows, a scale bar, and colour key for reference. A horizontal image of the galaxy stretches across a black background filled with thousands of tiny purple, pink, and white points of light. The galaxy is brightest at its centre. Delicate loops and ribbons of pink and lavender arc above and below the centre of the image in the shape of an ‘S’. A band of gray and white dust in the shape of a parallelogram cuts across the middle of the galaxy. The galaxy’s outer edges fade into soft plumes with feathery textures that stretch toward the left and right sides of the image. Below the image is a colour key showing which of Webb’s MIRI filters were used to create the image and which visible-light colour is assigned to each filter. From left to right: F560W is blue; F770W is green; and F1000W is red.]

Centaurus A (NIRCam image)

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This view of Centaurus A from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope if from the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) Webb’s infrared vision exposes a warped disk of gas and dust left behind by a collision with another galaxy billions of years ago.

Centaurus A: ground-based context

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0200

This ground-based image of nearby galaxy Centaurus A from the European Southern Observatory (top left) puts the near-infrared and mid-infrared views from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope image into context.

[Image description: A three-panel comparison shows different views of galaxy Centaurus A. The upper left panel is a visible-light image of the full galaxy surrounded by a black sky filled with white, blue, and yellow stars. Centaurus A has a dark dust lane crossing a bright centre. A white outlined box marks the region observed by Webb. The upper right panel zooms into that outlined region with a combined near- and mid-infrared view from Webb. The galaxy is oriented diagonally, with a bright white core surrounded by an orange glow. A broad band of golden-orange dust forms a parallelogram across the centre, countless tiny stars create a fine speckled texture throughout the image. A dashed outline indicates the smaller region shown below, Webb’s mid-infrared view. The galaxy stretches horizontally across a black background scattered with purple and white stars, the parallelogram glows white. Wispy clouds and looping pink structures surround the centre. The galaxy’s edges fade into soft, feathery plumes.]

Centaurus A (annotated NIRCam + MIRI image)

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0200

Annotated image of the active galaxy Centaurus A captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), with compass arrows, a scale bar, and colour key for reference.

The scale bar is labeled in light-years.

This image shows invisible near- and mid-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colours. The colour key shows which NIRCam and MIRI filters were used when collecting the light. The colour of each filter name is the visible light colour used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.

[Image description: Annotated image of galaxy Centaurus A captured by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), with compass arrows, a scale bar, and colour key for reference. A diagonal image of the galaxy stretches from the upper left to the lower right against a deep black background filled with tiny orange, blue, and white points of light. A band of golden-orange dust cuts across the middle of the galaxy, forming a distinctive parallelogram shape. Just above the centre, peach-coloured ribbons trace an S-shaped structure. The galaxy’s outer edges are reddish-orange. Below the image is a colour key showing which of Webb’s filters were used to create the image and the visible-light colour assigned. NIRCam filters, from left to right: F090W is blue, F187N is blue, F200W is cyan, F277W is yellow, F335M is orange, F444W is red. MIRI filters, from left to right: F560 is yellow, F770W is orange, F1000W is red.]

ESAWebb Images

Collage of cutouts of star-forming region IC 348 (Webb NIRCam image)

Star-forming region IC 348 (NIRCam image)

IC 348 Crop: Central star cluster

IC 348 Crop: Spiral galaxies

IC 348 Crop: Gravitational lensing

IC 348 Crop: Herbig-Haro objects

IC 348 Crop: Stars and faint outflows

IC 348 Crop: Star embedded in a nebula

Arp 263 (crop)

Starstruck image of Arp 263

Striking star clusters and irregular clumps

Links

IRS 3 Field (NIRCam and MIRI image)

IRS 3 Field (MIRI image)

Star IRS 3 (close-up NIRCam image)

Location of star IRS 3

Location of star IRS 3

IRS 3 Field (NIRCam image)

Lion Nebula (MIRI image)

Lion Nebula (NIRCam + MIRI image)

Webb opens a Treasure Chest filled with stars

Links

Beta Pictoris system (NIRSpec IFU image and spectrum)

Centaurus A (annotated MIRI image)

Centaurus A (NIRCam image)

Centaurus A: ground-based context

Centaurus A (annotated NIRCam + MIRI image)