James Webb captures stunning Horsehead Nebula as ‘you’ve never seen it before...’

James Webb Space Telescope,which isthe largest, mostpowerful telescope ever launched into space, has captured the sharpest infrared imagesto dateof the Horsehead Nebula, which isone of the most distinctive objects in our skies.

The images shared on the official website ofthe European Space Agency (ESA) show observations of a part of the iconic nebula in a whole new light.

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The latest images have captured the complexity of the nebula with "unprecedented spatial resolution", the official statement said.

The observations show the top of the "horse's mane" or the edge of this iconic nebula. The images also show part of the sky in the constellation Orion (The Hunter), on the western side of a dense region known as the Orion B molecular cloud.

Horsehead Nebulais seenrising from turbulent waves of dust and gas,which is otherwise known as Barnard 33. It resides roughly 1,300 light-years away.

Formation of Horsehead Nebula

The nebula was formedfrom a collapsing interstellar cloud of material.The official statement revealed that it glows becauseit is illuminated by a nearby hot star.

"The gas clouds surrounding the Horsehead have already dissipated, but the jutting pillaris madeof thick clumps of material that is harder to erode," ESA said.

According to the astronomers, the Horsehead has about five million years left before it too disintegrates.

Thanks to the MIRI and NIRCam instruments of James Webb, a team of astronomers has revealed the small-scale structures of the illuminated edge of the Horsehead for the first time.

(With inputs from agencies)