This image taken by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows a part of the Orion Nebula known as the Orion Bar. It is a region where energetic ultraviolet light from the Trapezium Cluster — located off the upper-left corner — interacts with dense molecular clouds. The energy of the stellar radiation is slowly eroding the Orion Bar, and this has a profound effect on the molecules and chemistry in the protoplanetary disks that have formed around newborn stars here.
Within this image lies a young star system known as d203-506, which has a protoplanetary disk. Astronomers used Webb to detect a carbon molecule known as methyl cation in that disk for the first time. That molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules.
Credits
Image
ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), PDRs4ALL ERS Team
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Orion Bar |
| R.A. Position | 5 35 22.27 |
| Dec. Position | 5° 24' 29.63" |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Distance | 1,350 light-years |
| Dimensions | 2.08 x 2.31 arcminutes |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created with Webb data from proposal: (O. Berné) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam/MIRI instrument. Several filters were used to sample wide wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Purple: 1.4, 1.62 microns; Blue: 1.64, 1.82 microns; Cyan: 1.87, 2.1 microns; Green: 2.12, 2.77 microns; Yellow: 3.0 microns; Orange: 3.23, 3.35 microns; Red: 4.7, 4.8 microns |
| 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. |
