Digel Cloud 2S

Digel Cloud 2S

Caption

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed the outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy. Known as the Extreme Outer Galaxy, this region is located more than 58,000 light-years from the Galactic Center.

To learn more about how a local environment affects the star formation process within it, a team of scientists directed the telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) toward a total of four star-forming areas within Digel Clouds 1 and 2: 1A, 1B, 2N, and 2S.

In the case of Cloud 2S, shown here, Webb revealed a luminous main cluster that contains newly formed stars. Several of these young stars are emitting extended jets of material from their poles. To the main cluster’s top right is a sub-cluster of stars, a feature that scientists previously suspected to exist but has now been confirmed with Webb. Additionally, the telescope revealed a deep sea of background galaxies and red nebulous structures that are being carved away by winds and radiation from nearby stars.

Credits

Image

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Michael Ressler (NASA-JPL)

Keywords

About The Object
Object Name Digel Cloud 2
Object Description Star cluster on the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy
R.A. Position 02:48:28.45
Dec. Position +58:23:29.72
Constellation Perseus
Distance About 40,000 light-years
Dimensions Image is 1.8 arcmin across (about 21 light-years)
About The Data
Data Description This image was created with Webb data from proposal: (M. Ressler); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Instrument NIRCam, MIRI
Exposure Dates 17 Jan 2023
Filters NIRCam: F115W, F150W, F200W, F356W, F444W MIRI: F770W, F1280W
About The Image
Color Info These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam and MIRI instruments. 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: F115W, Blue: F150W, Green: F200W, Yellow: F356W, Orange: F444W, Red: F770W, Red: F1280W
Compass and Scale Image At center right is a compact star cluster composed of luminous red, blue, and white points of light. Faint jets with clumpy, diffuse material extend in various directions from the bright cluster. Above and to the right is a smaller cluster of stars. Translucent red wisps of material stretch across the scene, though there are patches and a noticeable gap in the top left corner that reveal the black background of space. Background galaxies are scattered across this swath of space, appearing as small blue-white and orange-white dots or fuzzy, thin disks. There are two noticeably larger points, foreground stars, with diffraction spikes: an orange-white point on the left, and a blue-white point in the top right.
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
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
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
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Compass and Scale Image An astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

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