NASA Shares Teaser Image For James Webb Space Telescope

NASA recently shared a beautiful image of a rich star-forming region located in a distant constellation. According to the agency, the image can be considered as a teaser for the types of photos that will be captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The subject of the photo is a star-forming region that lies about 750 light-years away from Earth’s neighborhood. It is located in the Serpens constellation.

According to NASA, the region, known as the Serpens Cloud Core, is filled with newborn stars that are surrounded by massive clouds of gas and dust. Most of the young stars appear in the center of the image.

In the photo shared by NASA via Instagram, the newborn stars appear as bright pink dots near the center of the image. The other colors that appear in the image are caused by other cosmic objects such as gas clouds and stellar emissions.

Unlike other star-forming regions such as those in the Orion Nebula, the stellar objects that form in the Serpens Cloud Core only have low and moderate masses.

“The region is noteworthy as it only contains stars of relatively low to moderate mass, and lacks any of the massive and incredibly bright stars found in larger star-forming regions like the Orion nebula,” NASA explained in a statement.

“Our sun is a star of moderate mass. Whether it formed in a low-mass stellar region like Serpens or a high-mass stellar region like Orion, is an ongoing mystery,” the agency continued.

As noted by NASA, the image was captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope using its infrared imaging capabilities, which allow human eyes to spot objects that are normally invisible under visible light.

According to the agency, the image is the type of photo that will be captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. With improved infrared resolution and sensitivity, the new space telescope is expected to capture more detailed photos from space.

The James Webb Space Telescope will serve as the official successor of the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA plans to launch its new flagship space telescope sometime in 2021.