Something spooky is brewing in this eerie corner of the universe
The region is located about 161,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the satellite galaxies orbiting our Milky Way.
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THE TAKEAWAY
- Astronomers captured a turbulent star-forming region known as N159.
- The region is located about 161,000 light-years away.
- The observation was selected as Webb’s Picture of the Month for October.
It’s about to be a very spooky Halloween in space.
Scientists say they have found stars brewing inside a Halloween-like cosmic cauldron.
Using the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers captured a turbulent star-forming region known as N159.
This image shows N159, a turbulent star-forming region located 161,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud. (NASAwebb / NASA)
The region is located about 161,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the satellite galaxies orbiting our Milky Way.
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The observation was selected as Webb’s Picture of the Month for October, learning into the spooky season vibes.
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble," the agency commented. "We visit a turbulent cauldron of star formation to see what is brewing inside dense clumps of gas."
In this image of the Serpens Nebula from the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers found a grouping of aligned protostellar outflows within one small region (the top left corner). In the Webb image, these jets are signified by bright clumpy streaks that appear red, which are shockwaves from the jet hitting surrounding gas and dust. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI) / NASA)
According to NASA, the region has a lower metallicity, the proportion of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, than our Milky Way.
This gives astronomers an opportunity to learn more about conditions in the early universe and how stars formed under those conditions.
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The colors in the image reveal the chemistry of the region. The light orange areas represent light emitted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, important carbon-based molecules.
The pale blue gas clouds are ionized hydrogen, or H II gas, energized by the intense ultraviolet light from massive stars.
Wolf-Rayet stars are known to be efficient dust producers, and the Mid-Infrared Instrument on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope shows this to great effect. ( NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team. / NASA)
Dark red filaments stretch across the center of the image, made up of cool molecular hydrogen.
These filaments are the densest parts of the nebula and help shield new stars from harsh radiation and stellar winds.
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The image has sparked excitement among space enthusiasts, with viewers enjoying the beauty and complexity of the cosmic display.
These images of Arp 142 are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam and MIRI instruments. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI / NASA)
"The universe is so beautiful and mysterious. It’s incredible to think that stars are being born right here," one commenter wrote.
Another said: "Love that the colours here are chemistry."
While the image may look like a bubbling cosmic cauldron just in time for Halloween, it offers astronomers a closer look at the turbulent clouds of gas where new stars are born.