Cosmic cliffs, galaxy group: 1st series of photos by James Webb Space Telescope

Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula: This glitter-speckled, mountain range-like structure is actually the birthplace of many stars located in the Carina nebula, some 7,600 light-years away from Earth. The 7-light-year-high star-forming region is at the edge of a gigantic, gaseous cavity within stellar nursery NGC 3324. This was one of the first images composed by the James Webb Space Telescope with its Near-Infrared Camera. Many such star-forming regions were completely hidden in visible-light images. Massive, hot, young stars are located in a “bubble” above the area in the image. Intense solar winds and ultraviolet radiation have carved this area from the nebula, according to the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration that released the image July 12, 2022. Photo: NASA

Stephan’s quintet: This is a group of five solar systems called the ‘Stephan’s Quintet’ captured in brilliant detail for the first time by the James Webb Space Telescope. The four luminous circles in a line on the right are galaxies that interact with each other and pull at each others’ gravities. The fifth galaxy in the quintet, NGC 7320, is more independent and closer to Earth (40 million light-years away) than the rest (290 light-years away). This treasury of galaxies that are relatively closer to our planet in cosmic scale than those that are billions of light-years away, offer scientists the opportunity to closely study processes crucial for galaxy evolution such as merging and interaction. The image is a composite photograph of the telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).

This MIRI image of the quintet shows its features that were previously hidden by a gaseous film. It reveals “huge shock waves and tidal tails, gas and stars stripped from the outer regions of the galaxies by interactions”.

Southern Ring Nebula: This glowing fluid-bubble like structure was formed when a star evolved into a white dwarf. The layers shed by the Sun-like star rippled out around it to form the asymmetric, flaming contours. The bright star seen at the centre of this near-infrared camera of the James Webb Telescope, outshines the white dwarf responsible for the creation of the structure. The dwarf is at the lower left of the bright star, which has helped it disperse the layers it shed over thousands of years. The central star is yet to start shedding its layers. The red, angled band at the upper-left area is a faraway galaxy.

This is the first image by the James Webb Space Telescope to be released by NASA. The image was unveiled by US President Joe Biden July 11, 2022. It is the sharpest image of distant galaxies.