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Protoplanetary Disks in NGC 346 Spectra (NIRSpec)

Graph showing the brightness of 2.02- to 2.37-micron light captured by Webb’s NIRSpec Microshutter Array.

This graph shows, on the bottom left in yellow, a spectrum of one of the 10 target stars in this study (as well as accompanying light from the immediate background environment). Spectral fingerprints of hot atomic helium, cold molecular hydrogen, and hot atomic hydrogen are highlighted. On the top left in magenta is a spectrum slightly offset from the star that includes only light from the background environment. This second spectrum lacks a spectral line of cold molecular hydrogen.

On the right is the comparison of the top and bottom lines. This comparison shows a large peak in the cold molecular hydrogen coming from the star but not its nebular environment. Also, atomic hydrogen shows a larger peak from the star. This indicates the presence of a protoplanetary disk immediately surrounding the star. The data was taken with the microshutter array on the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrometer) instrument.

  • Release Date
    December 16, 2024
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Finds Planet-Forming Disks Lived Longer in Early Universe
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

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Related Images & Videos

Twisted pink and orange filaments lie against a black background speckled with white and pink stars. Ten, small, yellow circles overlaid at various points across the image indicate the positions of the ten stars surveyed in this study.

Protoplanetary Disks in NGC 346 (NIRCam Image)

This is a James Webb Space Telescope image of NGC 346, a massive star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is one of the Milky Way's nearest neighbors. With its relative lack of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, the NGC 346 cluster serves as a...

A side-by-side comparison of a Hubble image of the massive star cluster NGC 346 (left) versus a Webb image of the same cluster (right). The Hubble image shows the cluster in shades of blue against a black background punctuated by white stars of various sizes. Ethereal nebulosity, looking much like draped chiffon, dominates the image. The Webb view, in shades of pink and orange against a black background, is speckled with fewer stars than in the Hubble version. These stars are white and pink. Webb pierces through the cluster’s clouds to reveal more of its structure, which looks like twisted fibers.

NGC 346: Hubble and Webb Observations

This side-by-side comparison shows a Hubble image of the massive star cluster NGC 346 (left) versus a Webb image of the same cluster (right). While the Hubble image shows more nebulosity, the Webb image pierces through those clouds to reveal more of the cluster's structure. NGC...

In orange, capital letters across the top are the words JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE. Below in larger, white capitals are the words SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD. A thin, vertical line separates them from the label NGC 346 in smaller type. A gray, horizontal line separates the words from the image below. Orange and pink arcs at the image center form a boat-like shape. One end of these arcs points to the top right, while the other points to the bottom left. Another orange and pink plume expands from the center to the top left. To the right of it is a cluster of white stars. Other stars and a few galaxies appear throughout. At the bottom left, arrows labeled north and east show the orientation of the image on the sky. At the lower right is a scale bar labeled 50 light-years, 15 parsecs, 50 arcseconds. Its length is about one-fifth the width of the image. A color key shows the NIRCam filters used and which color is assigned to each. From left to right: F200W is blue; F277W is green; F335M is orange; and F444W is red.

Protoplanetary Disks in NGC 346 (NIRCam Compass Image)

This image of the star cluster NGC 346, captured by Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), 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. Note that the relationship between north and...

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Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

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

Illustration Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

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