NASA Just Released More Stunning Images from the James Webb Telescope, See Them Here
See the far reaches of the universe like never before.
These days, wonder feels like it is in short supply. But it's out there even if it is not immediately in our reach. NASA reminded us of that this week, first releasing the sharpest infrared image of deep space ever captured. On June 12, NASA released additional images from the James Webb Space Telescope, which is a project that the European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency partnered on with NASA.
Launched in December 2021, the Webb telescope is the world's largest and most powerful space telescope on Earth. Its mission is to study every phase of the 13.5 billion-year cosmic history. By unfolding the infrared universe, it will reveal secrets about our solar system and the universe at large. Here are the images that were released today.
The first image of the Carina Nebula captures the star-forming region NGC 3324. Those orange peaks that look like mountains are actually the edge of a gaseous cavity in NGC 3324. The tallest points, "Cosmic Cliffs," are about seven light-years high. "The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image," NASA explained about the image.
You can also see individual stars in the Carina Nebula that were previously obscured. Webb's sensitivity to infrared light allows it to capture the stars through cosmic dust. The information captured in this image will help scientists learn more about star formations.
Webb captured the images of NGC 3132, which is approximately 2,500 light-years away. Also known as the Southern Ring Nebula, you can see a star at the center of the rings. Webb revealed for the first time that the star is cloaked in dust.
Webb also captured Stephan's Quintet, a grouping of five galaxies, and the image below contains over 150 million pixels and is constructed from almost 1,000 separate image files.
You can explore Webb and its findings at Webb.Nasa.gov and track where the telescope is now, explore the images, and learn more about the construction of this awe-inspiring technology.
Ready to go stargazing?
Here are all the best stargazing events that you can get out and see this month or you could stay in a stream the northern lights from home. If you're just getting started, check out our guide to astronomy for beginners or easy stargazing road trips from big US cities.Opheli Garcia Lawler is a Staff Writer on the News team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @opheligarcia and Instagram @opheligarcia.