Our unseen universe 🤩
Gaze at these full-color images from @NASAWebb. This set of images and spectroscopic data from the #space#telescope uncover a collection of features elusive to us until now. They also show the full capabilities of all four instruments on Webb, including the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), which #JPL manages for #NASA.
Swipe right to see them all:
- Carina Nebula: These “cosmic cliffs” in the Carina Nebula unveil the earliest, rapid phases of star formation that were previously hidden. Looking at this star-forming region in the southern constellation Carina, Webb can see newly forming stars and study the gas and dust that made them.
- Southern Ring Nebula: This planetary #nebula, an expanding cloud of gas that surrounds a dying #star, is approximately 2,000 light-years away. Here, Webb’s powerful #infrared eyes bring a second dying star into full view for the first time.
- Stephan’s Quintet: Webb’s view of this compact group of #galaxies that are located in the #constellation Pegasus pierced through the dust surrounding the center of one galaxy to reveal the velocity and composition of the gas near its supermassive black hole.
- SMACS 0723: The deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe so far – and captured in only 12.5 hours. This color composite of multiple exposures each at about two hours long is the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length.
- WASP-96b: A detailed observation of this hot, puffy #planet outside our #SolarSystm reveals the clear signature of water, along with evidence of haze and clouds that previous studies of this planet didn’t detect.
Webb’s first observations tell the story of the hidden #universe through every phase of cosmic history – from neighboring #exoplanets to the most distance galaxies. These images were selected by a group of representatives from @nasa, the @europeanspaceagency, the @canadianspaceagency, and the @space_telescopes.
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