\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA\u2019s Webb Reveals New Features in Heart of Milky Way\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/webb-stsci-01hf7p3b6pw5ds5n9m9xd1ey27.png?w=1536\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\nSagitarius C (NIRCam)<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCredits: <\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia).<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe latest image from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope shows a portion of the dense center of our galaxy in unprecedented detail, including never-before-seen features astronomers have yet to explain. The star-forming region, named Sagittarius C (Sgr C), is about 300 light-years from the Milky Way\u2019s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*.<\/p>\n
Image: Sagitarius C (NIRCam)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/webb-stsci-01hf7p3b6pw5ds5n9m9xd1ey27.png?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nThe NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s reveals a portion of the Milky Way\u2019s dense core in a new light. An estimated 500,000 stars shine in this image of the Sagittarius C (Sgr C) region, along with some as-yet unidentified features. A large region of ionized hydrogen, shown in cyan, contains intriguing needle-like structures that lack any uniform orientation.<\/div>\nNASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia).<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cThere\u2019s never been any infrared data on this region with the level of resolution and sensitivity we get with Webb, so we are seeing lots of features here for the first time,\u201d said the observation team\u2019s principal investigator Samuel Crowe, an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. \u201cWebb reveals an incredible amount of detail, allowing us to study star formation in this sort of environment in a way that wasn\u2019t possible previously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe galactic center is the most extreme environment in our Milky Way galaxy, where current theories of star formation can be put to their most rigorous test,\u201d added professor Jonathan Tan, one of Crowe\u2019s advisors at the University of Virginia.<\/p>\n
Protostars<\/h2>\n
Amid the estimated 500,000 stars in the image is a cluster of protostars \u2013 stars that are still forming and gaining mass \u2013 producing outflows that glow like a bonfire in the midst of an infrared-dark cloud<\/a>. At the heart of this young cluster is a previously known, massive protostar over 30 times the mass of our Sun. The cloud the protostars are emerging from is so dense that the light from stars behind it cannot reach Webb, making it appear less crowded when in fact it is one of the most densely packed areas of the image. Smaller infrared-dark clouds dot the image, looking like holes in the starfield. That\u2019s where future stars are forming.<\/p>\nWebb\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument also captured large-scale emission from ionized hydrogen surrounding the lower side of the dark cloud, shown cyan-colored in the image. Typically, Crowe says, this is the result of energetic photons being emitted by young massive stars, but the vast extent of the region<\/a> shown by Webb is something of a surprise that bears further investigation. Another feature of the region that Crowe plans to examine further is the needle-like structures in the ionized hydrogen, which appear oriented chaotically in many directions.<\/p>\n\u201cThe galactic center is a crowded, tumultuous place. There are turbulent, magnetized gas clouds that are forming stars, which then impact the surrounding gas with their outflowing winds, jets, and radiation,\u201d said Rub\u00e9n Fedriani, a co-investigator of the project at the Instituto Astrof\u00edsica de Andaluc\u00eda in Spain. \u201cWebb has provided us with a ton of data on this extreme environment, and we are just starting to dig into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Image: Sagitarius C Features<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/webb-stsci-01hfchzpbwn55y58dcskmd73k1.png?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nApproximate outlines help to define the features in the Sagittarius C (Sgr C) region. Astronomers are studying data from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope to understand the relationship between these features, as well as other influences in the chaotic galaxy center.<\/div>\nNASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Samuel Crowe (UVA)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAround 25,000 light-years from Earth, the galactic center is close enough to study individual stars with the Webb telescope, allowing astronomers to gather unprecedented information on how stars form, and how this process may depend on the cosmic environment, especially compared to other regions of the galaxy. For example, are more massive stars formed in the center of the Milky Way, as opposed to the edges of its spiral arms?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe image from Webb is stunning, and the science we will get from it is even better,\u201d Crowe said. \u201cMassive stars are factories that produce heavy elements in their nuclear cores, so understanding them better is like learning the origin story of much of the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world\u2019s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.<\/em><\/p>\nMedia Contacts<\/h2>\n
Laura\u00a0Betz<\/strong> \u2013 laura.e.betz@nasa.gov<\/a>, Rob Gutro<\/strong>\u2013 rob.gutro@nasa.gov<\/a>
NASA\u2019s \u00a0Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/p>\nLeah Ramsay<\/strong> lramsay@stsci.edu<\/a> , Christine Pulliam<\/strong> cpulliam@stsci.edu<\/a><\/p>\nSpace Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Downloads<\/h2>\n
Download full resolution images for this article<\/a><\/strong> from the Space Telescope Science Institute.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nRelated Information<\/h2>\n
Star Formation<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nPiercing the Dark Birthplaces of Massive Stars with Webb<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nOur Milky Way<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nWebb Mission<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/<\/p>\nWebb News<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/latestnews\/<\/p>\nWebb Images<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/multimedia\/images\/<\/p>\n<\/p>\nRelated For Kids<\/h2>\n
What Is a Nebula?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWhat Is a Galaxy?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWhat is the Webb Telescope?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nSpacePlace for Kids<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEn Espa\u00f1ol<\/h2>\n
Ciencia de la NASA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNASA en espa\u00f1ol\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nSpace Place\u00a0para ni\u00f1os<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\nKeep Exploring<\/div>\nRelated Topics<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia).<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The latest image from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope shows a portion of the dense center of our galaxy in unprecedented detail, including never-before-seen features astronomers have yet to explain. The star-forming region, named Sagittarius C (Sgr C), is about 300 light-years from the Milky Way\u2019s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*.<\/p>\n
Image: Sagitarius C (NIRCam)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\nThe NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope\u2019s reveals a portion of the Milky Way\u2019s dense core in a new light. An estimated 500,000 stars shine in this image of the Sagittarius C (Sgr C) region, along with some as-yet unidentified features. A large region of ionized hydrogen, shown in cyan, contains intriguing needle-like structures that lack any uniform orientation.<\/div>\nNASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia).<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cThere\u2019s never been any infrared data on this region with the level of resolution and sensitivity we get with Webb, so we are seeing lots of features here for the first time,\u201d said the observation team\u2019s principal investigator Samuel Crowe, an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. \u201cWebb reveals an incredible amount of detail, allowing us to study star formation in this sort of environment in a way that wasn\u2019t possible previously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe galactic center is the most extreme environment in our Milky Way galaxy, where current theories of star formation can be put to their most rigorous test,\u201d added professor Jonathan Tan, one of Crowe\u2019s advisors at the University of Virginia.<\/p>\n
Protostars<\/h2>\n
Amid the estimated 500,000 stars in the image is a cluster of protostars \u2013 stars that are still forming and gaining mass \u2013 producing outflows that glow like a bonfire in the midst of an infrared-dark cloud<\/a>. At the heart of this young cluster is a previously known, massive protostar over 30 times the mass of our Sun. The cloud the protostars are emerging from is so dense that the light from stars behind it cannot reach Webb, making it appear less crowded when in fact it is one of the most densely packed areas of the image. Smaller infrared-dark clouds dot the image, looking like holes in the starfield. That\u2019s where future stars are forming.<\/p>\nWebb\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument also captured large-scale emission from ionized hydrogen surrounding the lower side of the dark cloud, shown cyan-colored in the image. Typically, Crowe says, this is the result of energetic photons being emitted by young massive stars, but the vast extent of the region<\/a> shown by Webb is something of a surprise that bears further investigation. Another feature of the region that Crowe plans to examine further is the needle-like structures in the ionized hydrogen, which appear oriented chaotically in many directions.<\/p>\n\u201cThe galactic center is a crowded, tumultuous place. There are turbulent, magnetized gas clouds that are forming stars, which then impact the surrounding gas with their outflowing winds, jets, and radiation,\u201d said Rub\u00e9n Fedriani, a co-investigator of the project at the Instituto Astrof\u00edsica de Andaluc\u00eda in Spain. \u201cWebb has provided us with a ton of data on this extreme environment, and we are just starting to dig into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Image: Sagitarius C Features<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\nApproximate outlines help to define the features in the Sagittarius C (Sgr C) region. Astronomers are studying data from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope to understand the relationship between these features, as well as other influences in the chaotic galaxy center.<\/div>\nNASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Samuel Crowe (UVA)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAround 25,000 light-years from Earth, the galactic center is close enough to study individual stars with the Webb telescope, allowing astronomers to gather unprecedented information on how stars form, and how this process may depend on the cosmic environment, especially compared to other regions of the galaxy. For example, are more massive stars formed in the center of the Milky Way, as opposed to the edges of its spiral arms?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe image from Webb is stunning, and the science we will get from it is even better,\u201d Crowe said. \u201cMassive stars are factories that produce heavy elements in their nuclear cores, so understanding them better is like learning the origin story of much of the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world\u2019s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.<\/em><\/p>\nMedia Contacts<\/h2>\n
Laura\u00a0Betz<\/strong> \u2013 laura.e.betz@nasa.gov<\/a>, Rob Gutro<\/strong>\u2013 rob.gutro@nasa.gov<\/a>
NASA\u2019s \u00a0Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/p>\nLeah Ramsay<\/strong> lramsay@stsci.edu<\/a> , Christine Pulliam<\/strong> cpulliam@stsci.edu<\/a><\/p>\nSpace Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Downloads<\/h2>\n
Download full resolution images for this article<\/a><\/strong> from the Space Telescope Science Institute.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nRelated Information<\/h2>\n
Star Formation<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nPiercing the Dark Birthplaces of Massive Stars with Webb<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nOur Milky Way<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nWebb Mission<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/<\/p>\nWebb News<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/latestnews\/<\/p>\nWebb Images<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/multimedia\/images\/<\/p>\n<\/p>\nRelated For Kids<\/h2>\n
What Is a Nebula?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWhat Is a Galaxy?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nWhat is the Webb Telescope?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nSpacePlace for Kids<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nEn Espa\u00f1ol<\/h2>\n
Ciencia de la NASA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nNASA en espa\u00f1ol\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nSpace Place\u00a0para ni\u00f1os<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\nKeep Exploring<\/div>\nRelated Topics<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n
<\/figure>\u201cThere\u2019s never been any infrared data on this region with the level of resolution and sensitivity we get with Webb, so we are seeing lots of features here for the first time,\u201d said the observation team\u2019s principal investigator Samuel Crowe, an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. \u201cWebb reveals an incredible amount of detail, allowing us to study star formation in this sort of environment in a way that wasn\u2019t possible previously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe galactic center is the most extreme environment in our Milky Way galaxy, where current theories of star formation can be put to their most rigorous test,\u201d added professor Jonathan Tan, one of Crowe\u2019s advisors at the University of Virginia.<\/p>\n
Protostars<\/h2>\n
Amid the estimated 500,000 stars in the image is a cluster of protostars \u2013 stars that are still forming and gaining mass \u2013 producing outflows that glow like a bonfire in the midst of an infrared-dark cloud<\/a>. At the heart of this young cluster is a previously known, massive protostar over 30 times the mass of our Sun. The cloud the protostars are emerging from is so dense that the light from stars behind it cannot reach Webb, making it appear less crowded when in fact it is one of the most densely packed areas of the image. Smaller infrared-dark clouds dot the image, looking like holes in the starfield. That\u2019s where future stars are forming.<\/p>\n Webb\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument also captured large-scale emission from ionized hydrogen surrounding the lower side of the dark cloud, shown cyan-colored in the image. Typically, Crowe says, this is the result of energetic photons being emitted by young massive stars, but the vast extent of the region<\/a> shown by Webb is something of a surprise that bears further investigation. Another feature of the region that Crowe plans to examine further is the needle-like structures in the ionized hydrogen, which appear oriented chaotically in many directions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe galactic center is a crowded, tumultuous place. There are turbulent, magnetized gas clouds that are forming stars, which then impact the surrounding gas with their outflowing winds, jets, and radiation,\u201d said Rub\u00e9n Fedriani, a co-investigator of the project at the Instituto Astrof\u00edsica de Andaluc\u00eda in Spain. \u201cWebb has provided us with a ton of data on this extreme environment, and we are just starting to dig into it.\u201d<\/p>\n Around 25,000 light-years from Earth, the galactic center is close enough to study individual stars with the Webb telescope, allowing astronomers to gather unprecedented information on how stars form, and how this process may depend on the cosmic environment, especially compared to other regions of the galaxy. For example, are more massive stars formed in the center of the Milky Way, as opposed to the edges of its spiral arms?<\/p>\n \u201cThe image from Webb is stunning, and the science we will get from it is even better,\u201d Crowe said. \u201cMassive stars are factories that produce heavy elements in their nuclear cores, so understanding them better is like learning the origin story of much of the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n The James Webb Space Telescope is the world\u2019s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.<\/em><\/p>\n Laura\u00a0Betz<\/strong> \u2013 laura.e.betz@nasa.gov<\/a>, Rob Gutro<\/strong>\u2013 rob.gutro@nasa.gov<\/a> Leah Ramsay<\/strong> lramsay@stsci.edu<\/a> , Christine Pulliam<\/strong> cpulliam@stsci.edu<\/a><\/p>\n Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Download full resolution images for this article<\/a><\/strong> from the Space Telescope Science Institute.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Star Formation<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Piercing the Dark Birthplaces of Massive Stars with Webb<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Our Milky Way<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Webb Mission<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/<\/p>\n Webb News<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/latestnews\/<\/p>\n Webb Images<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/webb\/multimedia\/images\/<\/p>\n<\/p>\n What Is a Nebula?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n What Is a Galaxy?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n What is the Webb Telescope?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n SpacePlace for Kids<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Ciencia de la NASA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n NASA en espa\u00f1ol\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Space Place\u00a0para ni\u00f1os<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nImage: Sagitarius C Features<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>Media Contacts<\/h2>\n
NASA\u2019s \u00a0Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/p>\nDownloads<\/h2>\n
Related Information<\/h2>\n
Related For Kids<\/h2>\n
En Espa\u00f1ol<\/h2>\n
Related Topics<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n