Skip to content

Happy birthday, Webb

Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI)
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI)

The James Webb Space Telescope’s first-anniversary image presented a unique, detailed view of star birth. It shows the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, our closest star-forming area. Despite its small size and calmness, Webb’s image shows it full of action. Jets from young stars cross the image, making nearby gas glow red. Some stars even show shadows hinting at new planetary systems being formed.