The NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) of the James Webb Space Telescope has captured the famous Orion Nebula along with the Trapezium Cluster. The European Space Agency (ESA) released the images of the Orion Nebula on October 2, 2023.
Webb’s view of the Orion Nebula in long-wavelength
NIRCam (Near-InfraRed Camera) of James Webb Space Telescope has captured the mosaic of famous Orion Nebula in long-wavelength.
In this image, red and green lights are more dominant as the image is captured in long-wavelength.
The above image shows a region of 4 light-years across, which is slightly less than the distance between the Sun and Proxima Centauri. Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun.
The light-year is the distance traveled by light in one year in space (vacuum), which is approximately equal to 9.5 trillion kilometers.
Webb’s view of the Orion Nebula in short-wavelength
NIRCam (Near-InfraRed Camera) of James Webb Space Telescope has captured the mosaic of famous Orion Nebula and Trapezium Cluster in short-wavelength.
In this image, blue lights are more dominant as the image is captured in short-wavelength.
Please remember that both the long-wavelength and short-wavelength regions of the Orion Nebula are the same. However, the Trapezium Cluster is more prominently visible in short wavelengths because the stars in the Trapezium Cluster emit huge amounts of ultraviolet radiation, which has a short wavelength.
Why is it called the Trapezium Cluster?
There are four brightest stars in the heart of the Orion Nebula, which are easily visible even through a small telescope. As these four stars are aligned in the form of a trapezium, that’s why it is called the Trapezium Cluster. There are approximately 1000 stars in the cluster.
These stars are very hot (with surface temperatures greater than 10,000 K) and emit huge amounts of ultraviolet radiation, which ionizes the surrounding medium (the gas and dust). That’s why the surrounding medium (the gas and dust) glows.
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