Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud (NIRCam, NIRSpec, and MIRI Spectra)

Stsci_2023-106b_1024

stsci_2023-106b January 23rd, 2023

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and J. Olmsted (STScI)

Astronomers have taken an inventory of the most deeply embedded ices in a cold molecular cloud to date. They used light from a background star, named NIR38, to illuminate the dark cloud called Chameleon I. Ices within the cloud absorbed certain wavelengths of infrared light, leaving spectral fingerprints called absorption lines. These lines indicate which substances are present within the molecular cloud.

These graphs show spectral data from three of the James Webb Space Telescope’s instruments. In addition to simple ices like water, the science team was able to identify frozen forms of a wide range of molecules, from carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane, to the simplest complex organic molecule, methanol.

In addition to the identified molecules, the team found evidence for prebiotic molecules more complex than methanol (indicated in the lower-right panel). Although they didn’t definitively attribute these signals to specific molecules, this proves for the first time that complex molecules form in the icy depths of molecular clouds before stars are born.

The upper panels and lower-left panel all show the background star’s brightness versus wavelength. A lower brightness indicates absorption by ices and other materials in the molecular cloud. The lower-right panel displays the optical depth, which is essentially a logarithmic measure of how much light from the background star gets absorbed by the ices in the cloud. It is used to highlight weaker spectral features of less abundant varieties of ice.

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-106

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

Image Use Policy: https://www.stsci.edu/copyright

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Image Details

Image Type
Artwork
Object Name
Chameleon I
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Appearance > Reflection
Nebula > Appearance > Dark

Distance

Universescale1
522 light years

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 11h 6m 32.9s
DEC = -77° 23’ 26.5”
Constellation
Chamaeleon

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Webb Infrared -
Stsci_2023-106b_1280
×
ID
2023-106b
Subject Category
B.4.2.2   B.4.2.3  
Subject Name
Chameleon I
Credits
NASA, ESA, CSA, and J. Olmsted (STScI)
Release Date
2023-01-23T11:00
Lightyears
522
Redshift
522
Reference Url
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2023/news-2023-106
Type
Artwork
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Webb
Instrument
Color Assignment
Band
Infrared
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
166.63708365880, -77.39069946358
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Position
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
STScI
URL
https://www.stsci.edu/
Name
Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach
Email
outreach@stsci.edu
Telephone
410-338-4444
Address
3700 San Martin Drive
City
Baltimore
State/Province
MD
Postal Code
21218
Country
USA
Rights
https://www.stsci.edu/copyright
Publisher
STScI
Publisher ID
stsci
Resource ID
STSCI-J-p23106b-f-16001x9817.tif
Metadata Date
2023-01-19T13:57:40-05:00
Metadata Version
1.2
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
522 light years

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