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NGC 604 (NIRCam Image)

At the center of the image is a nebula on the black background of space. The nebula is comprised of clumpy, red, filamentary clouds. At the center-right of the red clouds is a large cavernous bubble, and at the center of the bubble there is an opaque blueish glow with speckles of stars. At the edges of the bubble, the dust is white. There are several other smaller cavernous bubbles at the top of the nebula, including two tiny cavities at the top center of the image. There are thousands of stars that fill the surrounding area outside the nebula, most of them are yellow or white. At 11 o’clock and 6 o’clock there are extremely bright stars with 8 diffraction spikes. There are also some smaller, red stars and a few disk-shaped galaxies scattered across the image.

This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) of star-forming region NGC 604 shows how stellar winds from bright, hot young stars carve out cavities in surrounding gas and dust.

The bright orange streaks in this image signify the presence of carbon-based molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. As you travel further from the immediate cavities of dust where the star is forming, the deeper red signifies molecular hydrogen. This cooler gas is a prime environment for star formation. Hydrogen ionized by ultraviolet radiation appears as a white and blue ghostly glow.

NGC 604 is located in the Triangulum galaxy (M33), 2.73 million light-years away from Earth. It provides an opportunity for astronomers to study a high concentration of very young, massive stars in a relatively nearby region.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    01:34:33.79
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    30:46:59.0
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Triangulum
  • 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.
    About 2.73 million light-years (830,000 parsecs)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 2.1 arcminutes across (about 1,700 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.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 6555 (M. Marin). Image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).

  • 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.
    28 Janurary 2024
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F090W, F187N, F200W, F335M, F444W, F470N
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 604, M33
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Star Forming Region in Spiral Galaxy M33
  • Release Date
    March 9, 2024
  • Science Release
    Peering Into the Tendrils of NGC 604 with NASA’s Webb
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 4159 × 3374
    tif (24.12 MB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 4159 × 3374
    png (18.3 MB)
  • 2000 × 1623
    png (5.4 MB)
At the center of the image is a nebula on the black background of space. The nebula is comprised of clumpy, red, filamentary clouds. At the center-right of the red clouds is a large cavernous bubble, and at the center of the bubble there is an opaque blueish glow with speckles of stars. At the edges of the bubble, the dust is white. There are several other smaller cavernous bubbles at the top of the nebula, including two tiny cavities at the top center of the image. There are thousands of stars that fill the surrounding area outside the nebula, most of them are yellow or white. At 11 o’clock and 6 o’clock there are extremely bright stars with 8 diffraction spikes. There are also some smaller, red stars and a few disk-shaped galaxies scattered across the image.
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 varying 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: F090W, Cyan: F187N, Green: F335M, Red: F444W+F470N

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

At the center of the image is a nebula on the black background of space. The nebula is comprised of wispy filaments of light blue clouds. At the center-right of the blue clouds is a large cavernous bubble. The bottom left edge of this cavernous bubble is filled with hues of pink and white gas. There are several other smaller cavernous bubbles at the top of the nebula, including two tiny cavities at the top center of the image. There are hundreds of dim stars that fill the surrounding area of the nebula.

NGC 604 (MIRI Image)

This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) of star-forming region NGC 604 shows how large clouds of cooler gas and dust glow in mid-infrared wavelengths. This region is a hotbed of star formation and home to more than 200 of the hottest,...

An image labeled “James Webb Space Telescope, NGC 604.” At the center of the image is a nebula on the black background of space. The nebula is comprised of clumpy, red, filamentary clouds. At the center-right of the red clouds is a large cavernous bubble, and at the center of the bubble there is a opaque blueish glow with speckles of stars. At the edges of the bubble, the dust is white. There are several other smaller cavernous bubbles at the top of the nebula. At lower left, a white arrow pointing in the 4 o’clock direction is labeled N for north, while an arrow pointing in the 11 o‘clock direction is labeled E for east. At lower right, a scale bar is labeled 250 light-years. At the bottom is a list of NIRCam filters in different colors, from left to right: F090M (blue), F187N (cyan), F200W (green), F335M (orange), F444W (red), and F470N (red).

NGC 604 (NIRCam Compass Image)

This image of the NGC 604, captured by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference. The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. The scale bar is labeled in light-years, which is the...

At the center of the image is a nebula on the black background of space. The nebula is comprised of clumpy, red, filamentary clouds. At the center-right of the red clouds is a large cavernous bubble, and at the center of the bubble there is a opaque blueish glow with speckles of stars. At the edges of the bubble, the dust is white. There are several other smaller cavernous bubbles at the top of the nebula. There are thousands of stars that fill the surrounding area outside of the nebula, most of them are yellow or white – at 11 o’clock and 6 o’clock there are extremely bright stars with 8 diffraction spikes. There are also some smaller, red stars and a few disc-shaped galaxies scattered about the image.

NGC 604 Hubble to Webb Fade

This video compares images of star-forming region NGC 604 taken in visible light with the Hubble Space Telescope’s WFPC2 (Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2), near-infrared with the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), and mid-infrared with Webb’s MIRI...

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

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

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

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