James Webb Space Telescope marks first anniversary: NASA releases image, check discoveries

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Webb Space Telescope, an extraordinary observatory that has been in the hands of astronomers for a year now. To commemorate this occasion, NASA has released a spectacular new image of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. Located just 400 light-years away, Rho Ophiuchi is the closest star-forming region to us.

Both professional and amateur stargazers are captivated by this region, situated adjacent to the plane of the Milky Way. The image captured by Webb represents only a fraction of the dense gas and dust in this area, showcasing the remarkable resolution of the telescope. The entire image spans approximately half a light-year, equivalent to 4.7 trillion kilometers.

«In just one year, the James Webb Space Telescope has transformed humanity's view of the cosmos, peering into dust clouds and seeing light from faraway corners of the universe for the very first time,» said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. «Every new image is a new discovery, empowering scientists around the globe to ask and answer questions they once could never dream of.» James Webb's image shows around 50 young stars, of similar mass to our Sun or smaller. Some have the signature shadows of circumstellar disks — a sign that planets may eventually form around them.

Huge jets of hydrogen appear horizontally in the upper third, and vertically on the right. A glowing cave of dust dominates the lower half of the image, carved out by the star S1 at its center. S1 is the only star in the image significantly bigger than the Sun.