The James Webb Telescope Captured The Heart Of The Milky Way
The orbiting James Webb Infrared Observatory allowed scientists to discern the region of intense star formation Sagittarius C, located at a distance of about 300 light years from the center of the galaxy – the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A.
This region is about 300 light-years from the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* at the center of our galaxy and more than 25,000 light-years from Earth. This region contains more than 500 thousand stars and several clusters of protostars that are still forming and gaining mass. The center of the galaxy is “the most extreme environment” in it, explained University of Virginia professor Jonathan Tan; Until now, astronomers have not had images of this area in such detail and at such resolution.
At the center of this region is a massive protostar with a mass of 30 solar masses – it blocks the light behind it, making its surroundings appear less “populated”. The NIRCam camera also recorded a large-scale emission of ionized hydrogen – this is the blue area at the bottom of the image.
“The galactic center is a crowded, turbulent place. Stars form in turbulent, magnetized clouds of gas. Webb has provided us with a wealth of data about this extreme environment, and we are just beginning to understand it,” said Samuel Crowe.
