Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2022

20 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022 ASTRO PUBLISHING dented resolution at near-infrared wavelengths. To the upper left of the cluster of young stars, and the top of the nebula’s cavity, an older star prominently displays NIRCam’s distinctive eight diffraction spikes, an artifact of the telescope’s struc- ture. Following the top central spike of this star upward, it almost points to a distinctive bubble in the cloud. Young stars still surrounded by dusty material are blowing this bubble, beginning to carve out their own cavity. Astronomers used two of Webb’s spectrographs to take a closer look at this region and deter- mine the chemical makeup of the star and its surrounding gas. This spectral information will tell as- tronomers about the age of the neb- ula and how many generations of star birth it has seen. Farther from the core region of hot young stars, cooler gas takes on a rust color, telling astronomers that the nebula is rich with complex hy- drocarbons. This dense gas is the material that will form future stars. As winds from the massive stars sweep away gas and dust, some of it will pile up and, with gravity’s help, form new stars. Webb presents a new perspective on 30 Doradus I n this mosaic image stretching 340 light-years across, Webb’s Near-In- frared Camera (NIRCam) displays the Tarantula Nebula star-forming region in a new light, including tens of thousands of never-before-seen young stars that were previously shrouded in cosmic dust. The most active region appears to sparkle with massive young stars, appearing pale blue. Scattered among them are still-embedded stars, appearing red, yet to emerge from the dusty cocoon of the nebula. NIRCam is able to detect these dust-en- shrouded stars thanks to its unprece- by NASA/ESA/CSA Leah Ramsay Christine Pulliam !