Webb reveals young stars in elusive stage of development

A deep dive into one of the James Webb Space Telescope's iconic first images has revealed dozens of energetic jets and outflows from young stars previously hidden by dust clouds.

The Cosmic Cliffs, a region at the edge of a gigantic, gaseous cavity within the star cluster NGC 3324 at the northwest corner of the Carina Nebula, is a hotbed for star formation. Webb's capabilities to peer through obscuring dust not only helps uncover the long-sought-after details but also allows researchers to track the movement of other features previously captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.

According to NASA's press release, recently, astronomers analyzed data from a specific wavelength of infrared light (4.7 microns) and discovered two dozen previously unknown outflows from extremely young stars revealed by molecular hydrogen - a vital ingredient for making new stars and an excellent tracer of the early stages of their formation.

"What Webb gives us is a snapshot in time to see just how much star formation is going on in what may be a more typical corner of the universe that we haven't been able to see before," said astronomer Megan Reiter of Rice University in Houston, Texas, who led the study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in December 2022.

Webb, an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), is on a mission to solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.

The unparalleled sensitivity of Webb allows observations of more distant regions, while its infrared optimization probes into the dust-sampling younger stages. Together this provides astronomers with an unprecedented view into environments that resemble the birthplace of our solar system, NASA said in a statement.

Scientists found "buried treasure," and the Cosmic Cliffs marked the spot. 🏴‍☠️Remember this view from Webb's first images? A deep dive has revealed young stars in an elusive stage of development — and may help us investigate how stars like our Sun form: https://t.co/KWQysezIWq pic.twitter.com/5NuhT3n4Op

— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) December 15, 2022