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Protostar EC 53 in the Serpens Nebula (NIRCam Compass Image)

Image titled “James Webb Space Telescope; Protostar EC 53 in the Serpens Nebula,” with compass arrows and color key. Image shows a young star-forming region is filled with wispy orange, red, and blue layers of gas and dust. At center-left, a larger star is circled. It has prominent diffraction spikes and an arc of white at right. At the top right is a scale bar labeled .025 light-years. The length of the scale bar is about one sixth of the total image. At the bottom left are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The east arrow points toward 5 o’clock. The north arrow points toward 8 o’clock. Below the image is a color key showing which NIRCam filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right: F140M (blue), F210M (cyan), F360W (orange), F480M (red).

This image of protostar EC 53 in the Serpens Nebula, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.

The protostar, circled in green, is enshrouded in dust in this near-infrared image.

The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).

The scale bar is labeled in light-years, which is the distance that light travels in one Earth-year. (It takes one quarter of a year for light to travel a distance equal to the length of the scale bar.) One light-year is equal to about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers.

This image shows invisible near-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which NIRCam filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.

Read a full description of the image.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    18:29:56.91
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    +1:14:45.77
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Serpens
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    1,300 light-years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 4.8 arcminutes across (1.4 light-years)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    The Webb observations include those from program 1611 (K. Pontoppidan).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    26 April 2023, 12 May 2023
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F140M, F210M, F360M, F480M
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    EC 53, Serpens Nebula, HBC 672, [EC 92] 82
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Variable, bursting protostar
  • Release Date
    January 21, 2026
  • Science Release
    NASA Webb Finds Young Sun-Like Star Forging, Spewing Common Crystals
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 12682 × 10446
    tif (116.32 MB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 12682 × 10446
    png (118.86 MB)
  • 12682 × 10446
    jpg (62.75 MB)
  • 2000 × 1647
    jpg (1.64 MB)
Image titled “James Webb Space Telescope; Protostar EC 53 in the Serpens Nebula,” with compass arrows and color key. Image shows a young star-forming region is filled with wispy orange, red, and blue layers of gas and dust. At center-left, a larger star is circled. It has prominent diffraction spikes and an arc of white at right. At the top right is a scale bar labeled .025 light-years. The length of the scale bar is about one sixth of the total image. At the bottom left are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The east arrow points toward 5 o’clock. The north arrow points toward 8 o’clock. Below the image is a color key showing which NIRCam filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right: F140M (blue), F210M (cyan), F360W (orange), F480M (red).
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample medium wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are:  Blue: F140M, Cyan: F210M, Orange: F360M, Red: 480M

Related Images & Videos

A young star-forming region is filled with wispy orange, red, and blue layers of gas and dust. At center-left, a larger star is circled. It has prominent diffraction spikes and an arc of white at right.

Protostar EC 53 in the Serpens Nebula (NIRCam Image)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s 2024 NIRCam image shows protostar EC 53 circled. Researchers using new data from Webb’s MIRI proved that crystalline silicates form in the hottest part of the disk of gas and dust surrounding the star — and may be shot to the system’s edges.

Illustration shows a large, angled semi-circle pancake around a small yellow orb representing a star. Tiny teal dots start near the orb, flowing up, out, and down toward the edges of the pancake, following several arrows.

Silicate Crystallization and Movement Near Protostar EC 53 (Illustration)

This illustration represents half the disk of gas and dust surrounding the protostar EC 53. Stellar outbursts periodically form crystalline silicates, which are launched up and out to the edges of the system, where comets and other icy rocky bodies may eventually form.

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Details

Last Updated
Jan 21, 2026
Location
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

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