NASA marks Webb Space Telescope’s one year of discovery with close-up of 50 baby stars

  • The region is relatively small and quiet yet full of illuminated gases, jets of hydrogen and even dense cocoons of dust with the delicate beginnings of even more stars

Livemint
Updated12 Jul 2023, 08:03 PM IST
The first anniversary image released Wednesday   by Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach, shows NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope displaying a star birth like it’s never been seen before, full of detailed, impressionistic texture.
The first anniversary image released Wednesday by Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach, shows NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope displaying a star birth like it’s never been seen before, full of detailed, impressionistic texture.(AP)

With a spectacular new image of Sun-like stars being born, NASA marked one year of discovery by the James Webb Space Telescope on Wednesday.

The Webb Space Telescope showed the latest snapshot revealing 50 baby stars in a cloud complex 390 light-years away, NASA said.

The region is relatively small and quiet yet full of illuminated gases, jets of hydrogen and even dense cocoons of dust with the delicate beginnings of even more stars.

Webb — the largest and most powerful astronomical observatory ever launched into space — has been churning out cosmic beauty shots for the past year. The first pictures from the $10 billion infrared telescope were unveiled last July, six months after its liftoff from French Guiana.

“Prepare to be awestruck!” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a tweet, noting that the image “presents star birth as an impressionistic masterpiece.”

All of the young stars appear to be no bigger than our sun. Scientists said the breathtaking shot provides the best clarity yet of this brief phase of a star’s life.

“It’s like a glimpse of what our own system would have looked like billions of years ago when it was forming,” NASA program scientist Eric Smith told The Associated Press.

“I like to remind people that when this light left, it was roughly 1633. ... People were putting Galileo on trial for believing that the Earth goes around the sun, and here we are seeing separate suns and planets forming today," Smith said.

According to NASA, this cloud complex, known as Rho Ophiuchi, is the closest-star forming region to Earth and is found in the sky near the border of the constellations Ophiuchus and Scorpius, the serpent-bearer and scorpion. With no stars in the foreground of the photo, NASA noted, the details stand out all the more. Some of the stars display shadows indicating possible planets in the making.

Webb is considered as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, orbiting Earth for 33 years.

(With inputs from AP)

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

MoreLess
First Published:12 Jul 2023, 08:03 PM IST
Business NewsScienceNewsNASA marks Webb Space Telescope’s one year of discovery with close-up of 50 baby stars

Get Instant Loan up to ₹10 Lakh!

  • Employment Type

    Most Active Stocks

    Tata Steel share price

    149.70
    07:18 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    1.05 (0.71%)

    Indian Oil Corporation share price

    145.00
    07:19 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    2.3 (1.61%)

    Tata Power share price

    445.20
    07:19 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    5.15 (1.17%)

    Bandhan Bank share price

    183.65
    07:10 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    1.4 (0.77%)
    More Active Stocks

    Market Snapshot

    • Top Gainers
    • Top Losers
    • 52 Week High

    Rainbow Childrens Medicare share price

    1,545.00
    06:59 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    -67.25 (-4.17%)

    ICICI Securities share price

    833.45
    06:59 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    -32.85 (-3.79%)

    Vijaya Diagnostic Centre share price

    966.70
    06:59 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    -30.35 (-3.04%)

    Narayana Hrudayalaya share price

    1,235.60
    06:59 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    -36.75 (-2.89%)
    More from Top Losers

    Brigade Enterprises share price

    1,244.80
    07:19 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    71.75 (6.12%)

    PCBL share price

    432.15
    07:17 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    21.35 (5.2%)

    Piramal Pharma share price

    281.85
    07:17 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    13.45 (5.01%)

    Jubilant Pharmova share price

    1,273.00
    06:59 PM | 1 NOV 2024
    60.65 (5%)
    More from Top Gainers

    Recommended For You

      More Recommendations

      Gold Prices

      • 24K
      • 22K
      Bangalore
      80,565.00-790.00
      Chennai
      80,571.00-790.00
      Delhi
      80,723.00-790.00
      Kolkata
      80,575.00-790.00

      Fuel Price

      • Petrol
      • Diesel
      Bangalore
      102.92/L-0.06
      Chennai
      101.23/L0.43
      Kolkata
      104.95/L0.00
      New Delhi
      94.77/L0.00

      Popular in Science

        HomeMarketsPremiumInstant LoanMint Shorts