James Webb Telescope captures Horsehead Nebula in unprecedented detail | Astronomy

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured images of the iconic Horsehead Nebula, a cloud of cold gas located about 1,300 light-years from Earth, with an unprecedented level of detail and resolution.

The observations showed part of this nebula in a completely new light that allowed us to capture all of its complexity, according to NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), responsible, together with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), for the James Webb telescope. .

The Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33, emerged from turbulent waves of dust and gases and was formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of material, space agencies explain, specifying that this nebula shines because it is illuminated by a star hot next.

Located in the Orion constellation, it is approximately 1500 light years away from Earth. The shape of its dark cloud of dust and gases, similar to a horse’s head, makes it one of the most identifiable nebulae.

The gas clouds surrounding this nebula have now dissipated, but the protruding pillar is made up of clusters thick of materials that are more difficult to erode. Astronomers estimate it has about five million years left before it disintegrates.

The nebula is in a region where “photodissociation” occurs, a phenomenon in which ultraviolet light from young, massive stars creates a hot zone of neutral gas and dust among the fully ionized gas, surrounding both the massive stars and the clouds in which they are located. located.

This ultraviolet radiation greatly influences the chemistry of the gases in these regions and acts as the most important source of heat, according to the same sources. These regions occur where interstellar gas is dense enough to remain neutral, but not dense enough to prevent the penetration of far ultraviolet light from very massive stars.

The light emitted by this photodissociation phenomenon constitutes a unique tool for studying the physical and chemical processes that drive the evolution of interstellar matter throughout the Universe, from the beginning of star formation to the present.

Due to its proximity and geometry, the Horsehead Nebula is an ideal target for astronomers to study the physical structures of such regions and the evolution of the chemical characteristics of gas and dust in their respective environments, as well as the transition regions between these. .

According to the space agencies involved in the James Webb telescope, this is considered one of the best objects in the sky for studying how radiation interacts with interstellar matter.

From now on, researchers intend to study the spectroscopic data obtained from Cabeça de Cavalo to demonstrate the evolution of the physical and chemical properties of the material observed through this nebula.