New Webb image shows star formation as glittering, craggy peaks

The James Webb telescope has captured an image of the Pismis 24 star cluster, located in the Lobstar Nebula about 5,500 light-years from Earth. The image, taken in infrared light by Webb's NIRCam, shows the dramatic stellar nursery in unprecedented detail. The image reveals swirling dust and infant stars, with the tallest spire in the nebula pointing directly at the star Pismis 24-1, which is actually composed of two stars that cannot be resolved by telescopes. The nebula also contains super-hot stars up to eight times the Sun's temperature, which are blasting out "scorching radiation and punishing winds" and carving a cave into the wall of the nebula. The white, glowing outline along the highest peaks are wispy veils of gas and dust illuminated by starlight. The nebula extends well beyond the field of view, and the tallest spire spans 5.4 light-years from its tip to the bottom of the image, with more than 200 of our solar systems able to fit into its width.