【Dear Utol (2025): Chick! Episode 47】

A star nursery discovered over 250 years ago will teach astronomers new things about how stars come to life with the help of the piercing vision of the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Dear Utol (2025): Chick! Episode 47powerful new $10 billion observatory, located in deep space about 1 million miles from Earth, took a new image of a star-forming region within the Carina Nebula. The picture captures exceptional details that previously eluded the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Carina Nebula has been a popular target to study through the years because it demonstrates a cosmic event that lasts for an extremely brief time — only about 50,000 to 100,000 years. The nebula lies in the Milky Way about 7,600 light-years away and is home to other notable cosmic objects, such as the Keyhole Nebula and the unstable supergiant star, Eta Carinae. Astronomers have given its features some pet names, too, like Mystic Mountain and Cosmic Cliffs.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

SEE ALSO: The James Webb telescope's first stunning cosmic images are here

The new Webb photo (seen at the top of this page) clears away the cobwebs of gas and dust to show hundreds of never-before-seen stars in the region, with bubbles, cavities, and jets blowing out from more baby stars. The telescope's ability to penetrate the dust screen is so strong, it is even able to catch the light of galaxies lurking far beyond the region, said Amber Straughn, deputy project scientist for Webb, during a NASA presentation on Tuesday.

"Every dot of light we see here is an individual star, not unlike our sun, and many of these likely also have planets," she said.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Hubble 2007 Credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble Webb 2022 Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI

Called the Cosmic Cliffs, the area captured looks like an arid desert landscape, with rusty rolling mountains and canyons sprawling beneath a starry sky. Enormous pillars loom over a glowing wall of gas, and radiation and space weather from newborn stars blow out bubbles. An eruption at the top of the ridgeline purges more gas and dust.

These features reside in the heart of a gaseous cavity, researchers say. But a cosmic tug-o-war through the interactions of gases and debris can ensue. Webb's study of the Carina Nebula and other nurseries may help researchers solve the age-old mystery of how gas and dust — the raw materials for stars and planets — could also work to prevent new births.

"There's a flip side of the story," Straughn said. "These same processes can serve to sort of erode away this material and stop star formation."

---

Related Stories

---

• The first images from the James Webb telescope are finally here
• The Webb telescope just took the deepest photo of the universe ever
• How NASA locked Omicron out of its Webb telescope control room
• NASA unexpectedly revealed a Webb telescope 'first light' image
• If the Webb telescope sunshield doesn't open, here’s what NASA will do

This picture is a montage assembled from four different April 1999 Hubble observations. Credit: NASA / Hubble Heritage Team and Nolan R. Walborn (STScI) / Rodolfo H. Barba (La Plata Observatory, Argentina) / Adeline Caulet (France) An image of the Carina Nebula, aka Mystic Mountain, taken by Hubble in 2010. Credit: NASA / ESA / M. Livio / Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI) The Carina Nebula, informally known as Mystic Mountain, taken by Hubble. Credit: Hubble / NASA / ESA / Processing by Judy Schmidt

Webb, a collaboration of NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, will observe some of the oldest, faintest light in the universe. Astronomers anticipate Webb will spark a golden age in our understanding of space. The new Carina Nebula photo was among the first full-color images released publicly on July 12, marking the beginning of scientific operations for the observatory.

Scientists have called out some of the prominent details Webb has revealed in the new photo, like an odd arch bending out of the region. Vapor appears to rise from the celestial “mountains” — searing gas and dust ejecting from the star nursery because of ultraviolet radiation.

"We see examples of structures that, honestly, we don't even know what they are, like what's going on here?" Straughn said, pointing out an element in the image. "The data is just so rich."

• Tech
• Science
• Shopping
• Deals
• Digital Culture
• Entertainment
• Life
• Games

• Best portable power station deal: Save 44% on the Jackery Explorer 100 v2
• Teen girl invents simple, yet innovative way to remove blind spots in cars
• Apple has reportedly bought the Israeli tech firm RealFace
• Apple announces $2.5 billion plan to ease California housing crisis
• Your 'wrong person' texts may be linked to Myanmar warlord
• Meet Tetra Pak, the most maddening piece of packaging in your kitchen
• Google revealed a security flaw on Halloween, so maybe update Chrome now
• Russia is about to disconnect from the internet. Here's what that means.
• Turtle Beach Recon 50P gaming headset deal: 28% off
• Apple has reportedly bought the Israeli tech firm RealFace

• Staff Picks: Bissell, Panter, Aridjis, Krasznahorkai
• Who Is Professor Bhaer, Really? Part 4 of 5
• Umberto Eco: “How to Travel with a Salmon”
• This Disturbing 1936 Cartoon Tells Springtime’s Origin Story
• Need a Valentine’s Day Movie? Try “I Know Where I’m Going!”
• No Life Lost: The World of Berlinde De Bruyckere
• Who Is Professor Bhaer? Part 3 of an Ongoing Investigation
• Klaus Wittkugel, East German Master of Book Design
• “Le Pont Mirabeau” by Guillaume Apollinaire
• An Erotic Advertisement From Our Archive

• NYT Strands hints, answers for May 2
• Blizzard president apologizes for 'failure' in Hong Kong debacle
• 10 error messages that prove my computer knows too much about my personal life
• Milo Yiannopoulos' bad week continues, resigns from Breitbart
• Best Amazon deal: Get a $5 Amazon credit when you spend $30 on home essentials
• Netflix's 'Fire in Paradise' offers sobering look at wildfires: Review
• House of Marley's attempt at sustainable earbuds has one big flaw
• Sad internet boy Elon Musk decides to log off. Again.
• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for May 19: Tips to solve Connections #238
• Apple Card will soon become one of the best ways to buy an iPhone

• The best day to book your flight, according to Google
• Rogue cow running through New York City gives cops a nail
• Tesla's street visualization screen now displays traffic cones
• Obviously you'll watch a bear eat a cookie out of Jason Momoa's mouth
• Amazon Prime Grubhub deal: Save $10 off orders of $20 or more
• Which new streaming service should you subscribe to? None of them
• Holiday takes an anti
• Sit back and let the #NoBallChallenge take over your timeline
• 'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 5: The spores are here!
• Halloween is over. The seasonal holiday wars have begun.