{"id":57877,"date":"2024-04-29T14:24:27","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T14:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/165f31fa-d47f-4efe-b072-b34288943e9f"},"modified":"2024-04-29T15:08:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T15:08:22","slug":"webb-telescope-zooms-in-on-the-top-of-the-dark-cosmic-cloud-known-as-the-horsehead-nebula","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/webb-telescope-zooms-in-on-the-top-of-the-dark-cosmic-cloud-known-as-the-horsehead-nebula\/","title":{"rendered":"Webb Telescope zooms in on the top of the dark cosmic cloud known as the Horsehead Nebula"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new view of the top of the famous dark nebula. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Monday, 29 April 2024 at 14:24 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most famous objects in the night sky, and has been captured in incredible detail in a new image by the James Webb Space Telescope<\/a>.<\/p>

Webb observations show the top of the horse’s mane, at the edge of the dark nebula, which is located in the constellation Orion<\/a>.<\/p>

The Horsehead Nebula<\/a> is located in the western side of a region known as the Orion B molecular cloud, and is relatively close to Earth at 1,300 lightyears away.<\/p>

Portion of the Horsehead Nebula ‘mane’ captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument. Click to expand. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Karl Misselt (University of Arizona), Alain Abergel (AIM Paris-Saclay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

This famous equine cosmic cloud formed from a collapsing interstellar clump of material, and glows because it is being blasted with radiation from a nearby hot star.<\/p>

The pillar that forms the horsehead shape is made from thick, dense cosmic dust and gas, and has not yet been eroded by the newborn star.<\/p>

But astronomers calculate that the Horsehead Nebula will disappear in about 5 million years time.<\/p>

This new Webb image of the Horsehead Nebula zooms in on the illuminated edge of the top of the nebula.<\/p>

\"Portion
Portion of the Horsehead Nebula ‘mane’ captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI instrument. Click to expand. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Karl Misselt (University of Arizona), Alain Abergel (AIM Paris-Saclay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Webb\u2019s\u00a0MIRI<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0NIRCam<\/a>\u00a0instruments have revealed small-scale structures of the illuminated edge of the Horsehead Nebula for the first time<\/p>

UV light from the nearby star is evaporating the dust cloud, causing particles to be swept out into space.<\/p>

And Webb has detected network of thin features showing this process in action.<\/p>

The team of astronomers behind the study intend next to use spectroscopy to study how the physical and chemical properties of the nebula have changed over time.<\/p>

Observations were taken for the Webb GTO program\u00a01192<\/a>\u00a0and the results were published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Read the paper here<\/a> (PDF).<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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