English: The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has observed the well-known Orion Nebula and Trapezium Cluster using the NIRCam instrument. The new images provide unprecedented spatial resolution and spectral sensitivity
On the left, the image from Webb’s NIRCam short-wavelength channel shows the nebula, its stars, and many other objects in unprecedent high definition in the near infrared. Many of the young stars are surrounded by dense disks of gas and dust which may be forming planets. In other cases, those disks are being destroyed by the intense ultraviolet radiation and strong winds from the most massive stars in the region. Many of these photoevaporating disks are visible if you zoom into the image.
On the right, the image from Webb's NIRCam long-wavelength channel reveals the gas, dust and molecules with unprecedented sensitivity in infrared, but at lower spatial resolution than in the short-wavelength image. The cavity is mostly filled with ionised gas, seen here in purple, while the surroundings have a mix of dust and molecular gas seen in reds, browns, and greens. The Bright Bay to the upper left is being eroded by the massive stars and there are many pillars of gas and dust which are being carved.
Scientists have used a very large set of data to generate the two colour composite images featured in the slider. A total of 2400 individual images taken through five NIRCam short-wavelength filters were combined to make the full short-wavelength colour composite view, while 712 individual images in six NIRCam long-wavelength filters were combined to obtain the long-wavelength one.
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