James Webb captures the birth of a massive star cluster

The European Space Agency (ESA) has published a stunning image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. This is Nebula N79, a large star-forming complex in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.

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Photo taken by James Webb

Regions like N79, rich in gas and dust, are of interest to astronomers because their chemical compositions resemble those observed when the universe was billions of years old and star formation was at its peak. Moreover, much of this piece of space has yet to be explored by scientists.

Unlike the star-forming regions of the Milky Way, where the solar system, including Earth, is located, N79 generates stars at a higher rate and has a distinct chemical composition.

The released image shows what appear to be hexagrams, extending across the central region of N79. Astronomers explain that these spikes are actually an effect caused by light gathering in the 18 hexagonal segments, which together form the primary Webb mirror. It reflects the required light towards the secondary mirror, which is above the primary mirror, with the help of three wheels.

The image was taken using the mid-infrared instrument (MIRI). It is sensitive to long infrared wavelengths, which can penetrate the dense dust clouds there. In this way it became possible to record what is inside the N79 particles.

See the photo I took James Webb less:

Nebula N79

• Nebula N79 is a star-forming complex spanning about 1,630 light-years.
• It is a region of atomic hydrogen between stars that has been ionized.
• This explains why light is emitted.
• This nebula is the younger sister of Dorados 30, the Tarantula Nebula, which Webb also observed.
• According to the researchers, N79 has shown twice the efficiency in star formation over the past 500,000 years as 30 Doradus.
• The information is from European Space Agency (ESA).