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Tarantula Nebula

The ethereal wisps of the Tarantula Nebula, as seen by NIRCam.
The ethereal wisps of the Tarantula Nebula, as seen by NIRCam. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

Webb imaged the Tarantula Nebula in September 2022. The nebula is named for its resemblance to a burrowing tarantula’s hole, dark and covered in spider silk.

The nebula sits 161,000 light-years from Earth, and is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Protostars are being born in this image, taken by Webb’s NIRCam.

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