The new images of the James Webb Space Telescope take your breath away

Unprecedented". New pictures from the James Webb Space Telescope leave scientists speechless. Thanks to NASA’s powerful instrument, we were able to see unprecedented details about the birth of stars in the galaxies closest to us.

The NGC 7496 galaxy, over 24 million light years from Earth. Credit: NASA

We often think of an empty space between stars, galaxies and the biggest celestial objects. Actually, and we’ve already talked about it here, galaxies are filled with something that astronomers call the interstellar medium, which is the gas and dust that permeates space between these large celestial objects. It is important to point out that, in the right conditions, it is from there that the new stars form.

Thanks to the sophisticated instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope, and in particular the MIRI (mid-infrared instrument), a group of astronomers from the University of San Diego, California, managed to observe incredible details of the birth of a star. In particular, the researchers were able to see gas filaments and even "bubbles" exploded by stars that have "just" formed, with their respective radiation fields and the resulting supernovae that evaporate the gas clouds all around them.

References: NASA