Looks unreal: Webb captures sparkling super-hot stars in the Lobster Nebula
Scientists have been using Webb to study regions of star birth. With these studies, they try to understand how young stars evolve and how they interact with their environment. Now, Webb has captured another one of such regions.
Using its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), Webb captured a glittering star cluster, Pismis 24, located in the Lobster Nebula. As seen in the image, this cluster contains hundreds to thousands of stars. The larger and brighter stars show have a six-point diffraction.
Around the center of the cluster is a group of stars called Pismis 24-1. Pismis 24-1 does look like a single massive bright star, but studies have shown that it contains at least two stars. The two known stars are among the largest and brightest stars ever known.
Strong winds and radiation from the young stars in this cluster push away the less dense areas of the surrounding gas cloud, leaving behind denser columns called spires. The spires get compressed by the fierce winds, eventually causing new stars to form within them. The tallest spire has a wide tip that spans about 0.14 light-years. Put in perspective, this tip is over 200 times wider than our solar system out to Neptune.
The image also reveals dust particles — the orange structures that appear like smoke. Massive young stars in the cluster heat up hydrogen gas, and this is represented in the color cyan. This Webb image not only provides viewing pleasure, but it could help scientists learn more about how these hot young stars behave and how they evolve.
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