JWT Shows A Galaxy With Massive Young Stars

Photos recently taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) show detailed details of the star formation region in the Triangulum Galaxy.

The image, taken by the near-infrared camera on the James Webb Telescope, contains many areas of bright orange color, indicating the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The stellar winds of the brightest and hottest young stars formed cavities in this nebula, and ultraviolet radiation ionized the surrounding gas – the hydrogen thus ionized is indicated by a blue-white glow.

The gas clouds that fill this star-forming region are about 1,300 light-years in diameter. NGC 604 is considered relatively young, only 3.5 million years old, compared to the 4.6 billion age of our solar system.

JWST images show swirls and shells of gas surrounding more than 200 stars in the early stages of life. Such a high concentration of B and O stars, some of which have masses up to 100 times the mass of the Sun, is rare in the observable Universe.

This image sheds light on a star-forming region in a galaxy 2.7 million light-years from Earth.