Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Ginsburg (U.Florida) and STScI Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI)

Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) shows the Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) region in mid-infrared light, with warm dust glowing brightly. To the right is one clump of clouds that captured astronomers’ attention. It is redder than the rest of the clouds in the image and corresponds to an area that other telescopes have shown to be one of the most molecularly rich regions known. Additional analysis of this intriguing region could yield important insights into why Sgr B2 is so much more productive in making stars than the rest of the galactic center.

Only the brightest stars in this region emit mid-infrared light that can be picked up by Webb’s MIRI instrument, which is why this image has so many fewer stars than that captured by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera). The darkest areas of the image are not empty space but areas where cosmic dust and gas are so dense that light cannot penetrate them to reach the telescope.

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-explores-largest-star-forming-cloud-in-milky-way/

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

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