The Serpens Nebula: Objects Identified | James Webb Space Telescope

The Serpens Nebula: Objects Identified | James Webb Space Telescope

For the first time, a phenomenon astronomers have long hoped to image directly has been captured by the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). In this detailed image of the Serpens Nebula, the discovery lies in the northern area of this young, nearby star-forming region.

The astronomers found an intriguing group of protostellar outflows, formed when jets of gas spewing from newborn stars collide with nearby gas and dust at high speeds. Typically these objects have a variety of orientations within one region. Here, however, they are all slanted in the same direction, to the same degree, like sleet pouring down during a storm.

The discovery of these aligned objects, made possible only by Webb’s exquisite spatial resolution and sensitivity at near-infrared wavelengths, is providing information about the fundamentals of how stars are born.

This video showcases the new Webb Serpens Nebula image, with notable features and objects highlighted.

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Pontoppidan (NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory), J. Green (Space Telescope Science Institute), N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)

Duration: 1 minute, 10 seconds

Release Date: June 20, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #SerpensNebula #Stars #Jets #ProtostellarOutflows #Serpens #Constellation #Universe #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #Infrared #UnfoldTheUniverse #ESA #CSA #GSFC #STSc #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video