Things very old and very new feature prominently in this newly-released image from the James Webb Space Telescope. Going by the catchy name “Cosmic Cliffs,” this is an edge of a section of a nebula (the Carina Nebula, to be exact, appearing in our southern hemisphere) known as NGC 3324, first identified by James Dunlop in 1826.
Although these Cosmic Cliffs are 12 million years old, NGC 3324 is also a star nursery — a place where, as the weight of gas and dust collapses upon itself, stars are born. This image shows the region in never-before-seen detail, which will help scientists address questions about the conditions that young stars need for their formation, and the effects of heretofore unobserved smaller stars upon space nebulae.
The Cosmic Cliffs will be one of many regions of our universe made clearer by the James Webb Space Telescope’s sensitivity to infrared light and its ability to process large areas of space.
Source: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/nebula/en/, https://esawebb.org/news/weic2205/
