                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2023 July 13

                             Webb's Rho Ophiuchi
       Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI),
                      Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

   Explanation: A mere 390 light-years away, Sun-like stars and future
   planetary systems are forming in the Rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud
   complex, the closest star-forming region to our fair planet. The James
   Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam peered into the nearby natal chaos to
   capture this infrared image at an inspiring scale. The spectacular
   cosmic snapshot was released to celebrate the successful first year of
   Webb's exploration of the Universe. The frame spans less than a
   light-year across the Rho Ophiuchi region and contains about 50 young
   stars. Brighter stars clearly sport Webb's characteristic pattern of
   diffraction spikes. Huge jets of shocked molecular hydrogen blasting
   from newborn stars are red in the image, with the large, yellowish
   dusty cavity carved out by the energetic young star near its center.
   Near some stars in the stunning image are shadows cast by their
   protoplanetary disks.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

