?What is the Tarantula Nebula photographed by James Webb
Our dear James Webb Space Telescope has successfully captured the Tarantula Nebula! Largest nebula in the galaxy known to date and cradle of stars, we explain everything about this immense cosmic object
What signs from the sky? Not easy to know in this winter which covers us with gray clouds. Fortunately, the James Webb Space Telescope is there to give us some signs of the stellar world . This one recently offered us a new photograph for the less intense.
The Tarantula strikes a pose
It's a soap opera that we enjoy watching. Regularly, the JWST sends us marvelous images of space. Cluster of galaxies, view of Jupiter, pillars of creation , today the Tarantula Nebula had the honor of being photographed. But by the way, what is special about ?this nebula
Originally it was thought to be a star. It was in 1751 that the French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille clearly identified it as a nebula. These clumps of interstellar gas and dust are huge celestial objects that can be several light years in size.
Cemetery and Cradle of Stars
Both graveyard and cradle of stars , nebulae are fascinating to say the least. But that of the Tarantula is even more impressive. Indeed, this is the region with the highest star birth rate in our entire galaxy
The Tarantula is located approximately 160,000 light years from Earth and is the largest nebula known to date. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, its particularly bright stars emit powerful stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation.
A huge cluster
These then disperse the clouds of hydrogen , this being essential for the creation of stars and further enlarge the size of the cosmic Tarantula. Indeed, the nebula is easily visible to the naked eye, but less than the Orion Nebula. This is due to the distance that separates us from her.
Indeed, if the Tarantula were at the same distance as that of Orion (1350 light-years), that is to say 100 times closer, it would be twice as large in our starry sky as the chariot of the Great Bear ! Can you imagine having such a show every night before our eyes? We would ?dream of it, wouldn't we
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