On its anniversary, Webb telescope shows the birth of “sun-like” star

On July 12, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released an image of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex captured by its James Webb Space Telescope to mark its first year of operation in space.

Webb was launched into space in 2021 and began collecting data last year. In a press release, NASA said that the new image reveals a region about 390 light years away from the Earth, containing approximately 50 young stars, similar in size to the Sun.

“Webb’s image of Rho Ophiuchi allows us to witness a very brief period in the stellar life cycle with new clarity. Our own Sun experienced a phase like this, long ago, and now we have the technology to see the beginning of another star’s story,” said Klaus Pontoppidan, who served as a Webb project scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, since before the telescope’s launch, and through the first year of its operations.

According to the press release, in 2008, NASA’s Spitzer space telescope captured an image of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. The vivid detail of Webb’s image, however, stands in stark contrast as it provides a visual of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex without any obstructions of other stars in the foreground. Webb’s image would help researchers study star-formation for years to come.

Webb’s image reveals a young star, S1, and an outflow of material from a nascent star VLA1623.
The red in the image represents an outflow of jets of molecular hydrogen. According to NASA, “this occurs when a star first bursts through its natal envelope of cosmic dust, shooting out a pair of opposing jets into space like a newborn first stretching her arms out into the world. In contrast, the star S1 has carved out a glowing cave of dust in the lower half of the image. It is the only star in the image that is significantly more massive than the Sun.”

Webb’s key objectives include tracing the earliest galaxies which came into existence and collecting data by peering through dusty clouds with its 6.5m primary mirror to see stars forming planetary systems.

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On July 12, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released an image of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex captured by its James Webb Space Telescope to mark its first year of operation in space.

Webb was launched into space in 2021 and began collecting data last year. In a press release, NASA said that the new image reveals a region about 390 light years away from the Earth, containing approximately 50 young stars, similar in size to the Sun.

“Webb’s image of Rho Ophiuchi allows us to witness a very brief period in the stellar life cycle with new clarity. Our own Sun experienced a phase like this, long ago, and now we have the technology to see the beginning of another star’s story,” said Klaus Pontoppidan, who served as a Webb project scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, since before the telescope’s launch, and through the first year of its operations.

According to the press release, in 2008, NASA’s Spitzer space telescope captured an image of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. The vivid detail of Webb’s image, however, stands in stark contrast as it provides a visual of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex without any obstructions of other stars in the foreground. Webb’s image would help researchers study star-formation for years to come.

Webb’s image reveals a young star, S1, and an outflow of material from a nascent star VLA1623.
The red in the image represents an outflow of jets of molecular hydrogen. According to NASA, “this occurs when a star first bursts through its natal envelope of cosmic dust, shooting out a pair of opposing jets into space like a newborn first stretching her arms out into the world. In contrast, the star S1 has carved out a glowing cave of dust in the lower half of the image. It is the only star in the image that is significantly more massive than the Sun.”

Webb’s key objectives include tracing the earliest galaxies which came into existence and collecting data by peering through dusty clouds with its 6.5m primary mirror to see stars forming planetary systems.

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end of article