Webb Telescope Reveals “Cosmic Storm” of Starbirthโ in Lobster Nebula, Images Deemed “More Amazing Than Fiction”
BALTIMORE, MDโ – the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has delivered a breathtaking new image โof the Pismis 24 star cluster within the Lobster Nebula, showcasingโข the chaotic and dramatic birth of massiveโฃ stars in unprecedented โขdetail. The image, releasedโฃ by the Space Telescope Scienceโข Institute (STScI) which โขoperates the telescope for NASA, has โbeen described asโ resembling a โคscene โฃfrom โa fantasy epic โขlike โฃ the Lord of the Rings, yet represents a โขreality far exceeding imagination.
Launchedโ in December 2021 and now orbiting the sun approximately 1.6 million kilometers from Earth, JWST โฃis a collaborativeโ effort โbetweenโฃ NASA, the European Space Agencyโ (ESA), and the Canadian โSpace โคAgency (CSA). NASA officials predicted โthe telescope would revolutionize our understandingโฃ of the universe, a โclaim validated byโ the emotional response to its initialโ images -โข some scientistsโข reportedly โshed tears โคat the clarity of the data.
Astronomers are now hailing JWST’s capabilities as ushering in โคa “golden era โof discovery.” Theโค telescope can โpeer back to within 300 million years of the Big Bang, observing the โformation of the first stars and galaxies, and analyzeโค the atmospheres of distant exoplanets.
The newly released image of Pismis 24 reveals that starbirth isn’tโข a gentle process, but a “cosmic storm.” The โคmassive young stars within the cluster dramatically disrupt their surroundings,sometimes accelerating andโ sometimes halting the formation โฃof new โคstars. Some of these stars blaze at temperatures up โขto eight times hotter than our sun.
The JWST image highlights towering structures โof gas โคand โdust sculpted by the intense heat and radiation of these stars. Within these structures, new stars are actively forming. One particularlyโ large structure extends over 200 times the diameter of our โขsolar system, representing only aโฃ portion of the expansive Lobster Nebula.
The image also showcases thousands ofโข stars varying in color and size. The brightest stars exhibitโ six-pointed diffraction patterns, a characteristic of the JWST’s mirror design. Stars glow inโค shades of white, yellow, and red, depending on their type โฃandโค the amount of obscuring dust.
At the heart โขof Pismisโฃ 24 lies the star 24-1, previously thought toโ be the moast massive star ever observed. Further analysis revealed itโ is indeed actuallyโฃ a โคbinary system, comprised of two โฃstars each boasting a mass approximately 74 and โ66 times โthat of the โขsun – โคmaking it one of the brightest โandโข most massive star systems discovered to date.
Pam Melroy, NASA’s Deputy Administrator, emphasized theโ telescope’s longevity, notingโค that fuel reserves will allow forโ operations for โat least another 20 years. The observations of Pismis 24 โขdemonstrate the profoundโค influence young stars have on theirโ environments,providing invaluable data for astronomersโ studying stellarโ evolution and theโฃ dynamics of nebulae.
(mashable/z-2)