NASA’s Webb Peers into the Extreme Outer Galaxy
Science & Technology

NASA’s Webb Peers into the Extreme Outer Galaxy

NASA Space Technology This image shows a portion of the star-forming region, known as Digel Cloud 2S (full image below).Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Ressler (JPL)Astronomers have directed NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to examine the outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy. Scientists call this region the Extreme Outer Galaxy due to its location more than 58,000 light-years away from the Galactic Center. (For comparison, Earth is approximately 26,000 light-years from the center.)A team of scientists used Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to image select regions within two molecular clouds known as Digel Clouds 1 and 2. With its high degree of sensitivity and sharp resolution, the Webb data resolved these areas, which are hosts to star clusters undergoing bursts of star formation, in unprecedented detail. Details of this data include...
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