This image of the Fomalhaut system, captured by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference. Labels indicate the various structures. At right, a great dust cloud is highlighted and pullouts show it in two infrared wavelengths: 23 and 25.5 microns.
The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).
The scale bar is labeled in astronomical units, which is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, or 93 million miles. The outer ring is about 240 astronomical units in diameter.
This image shows invisible mid-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key and labels show which MIRI filters were used when collecting the light.
Credits
Image
NASA, ESA, CSA
Image Processing
András Gáspár (University of Arizona), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
Science
András Gáspár (University of Arizona)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Fomalhaut |
| Object Description | Dusty debris disk |
| R.A. Position | 22:57:39.05 |
| Dec. Position | -29:37:20.05 |
| Constellation | Piscis Austrinus |
| Distance | 25 light-years (8 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The JWST observations include those from program (C. Beichman) |
| Instrument | MIRI |
| Exposure Dates | 21 Oct 2022 |
| Filters | F2550W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | The image is a single exposure acquired by the MIRI instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. The color results from assigning an warm color map to a monochromatic (grayscale) image. Orange color map: F2250W |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
