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This is a sparkling scene of stellar creation, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). What looks like a craggy, starlit mountaintop wrapped in mist is actually a cosmic dust-scape, carved away by the blistering winds and radiation of nearby, massive infant stars.
The Home of Pismis 24: A Stellar Nursery in the Lobster Nebula.
The young star cluster Pismis 24 lies at the heart of the Lobster Nebula, roughly 5,500 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. This vibrant stellar nursery is one of the closest regions of massive star birth, making it a rare window into how the universe’s most colossal stars form and evolve.
At the core of the cluster shines Pismis 24-1, once thought to be the most massive star known. Scientists later discovered it is actually at least two stars, weighing in at 74 and 66 solar masses—still among the most luminous and massive stars ever observed.
A Jewel Box of Stars in Infrared.
Captured in infrared light by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), this breathtaking image reveals thousands of jewel-like stars of varying sizes and colors:
- Brilliant six-point diffraction stars mark the most massive cluster members.
- White, yellow, and red stars appear depending on their type and the dust surrounding them.
- Tens of thousands of stars beyond the cluster, belonging to the Milky Way galaxy, shimmer in the background.
Sculpted by Stellar Winds and Radiation.
The Lobster Nebula is a storm of creation and destruction. Infant stars, some nearly 8 times hotter than the Sun, unleash radiation and stellar winds that sculpt vast cavities and spires of gas and dust.
- Towering spires, like cosmic fingers, resist the onslaught of radiation.
- These spires become star factories, compressing and collapsing to form new stars.
- The tallest spire in this image stretches 5.4 light-years, wide enough to fit 200 solar systems like ours side by side.
Colors of a Living Nebula.
The Webb image uses color to reveal the nebula’s complex structure:
- Cyan: Hot, ionized hydrogen gas heated by massive young stars.
- Orange: Dust molecules similar to Earth’s smoke.
- Red: Cooler, denser molecular hydrogen.
- Black: The densest gas, invisible to starlight.
- Wispy white: Dust and gas scattering the glow of newborn stars.
Webb’s Mission: Unlocking the Universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope is humanity’s most powerful space observatory. With its cutting-edge infrared instruments, Webb is:
- Solving mysteries within our solar system.
- Exploring exoplanets around distant stars.
- Probing the origins of galaxies, stars, and planets.
- Helping us understand our place in the universe.
Led by NASA, in collaboration with the ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), Webb continues to transform our vision of the cosmos.