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30 Doradus (MIRI Compass Image)

Image titled James Webb Space Telescope, Tarantula Nebula, NGC 2070. Graphic elements added to image are compass arrows, scale bar, and color key. Image shows wispy pale yellow nebula clouds highlighted with bright blue, purple and pink, surrounding a large black cavity. A few small blue stars are sprinkled at the right edge of the cavity and in the cloud. At the bottom left are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The north arrow points straight up to 12 o'clock. The east arrow points straight left to 9 o’clock. At the lower right is a scale bar labeled 25 light-years. The length of the scale bar is about one-sixth the total width of the image. Below the image is a color key showing which MIRI filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right, MIRI filters are: F770W is dark blue, F1000W is light blue, F1280W is green, F1800W is red.

North and east compass arrows show the orientation of the Tarantula Nebula 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 25 years for light to travel a distance equal to the length of the bar.) One light-year is equal to about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers. 

This image shows mid-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which MIRI 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 the full image caption.

 

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    05:38:42.4
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -69:06:03.35
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Dorado
  • 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.
    170,000 light-years (52,000 parsecs)

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 from JWST data from proposal: 2729. It is part of Webb Early Release Observations. The Early Release Observations and associated materials were developed, executed, and compiled by the ERO production team: Jaclyn Barrientes, Claire Blome, Hannah Braun, Matthew Brown, Margaret Carruthers, Dan Coe, Joseph DePasquale, Nestor Espinoza, Macarena Garcia Marin, Karl Gordon, Alaina Henry, Leah Hustak, Andi James, Ann Jenkins, Anton Koekemoer, Stephanie LaMassa, David Law, Alexandra Lockwood, Amaya Moro-Martin, Susan Mullally, Alyssa Pagan, Dani Player, Klaus Pontoppidan, Charles Proffitt, Christine Pulliam, Leah Ramsay, Swara Ravindranath, Neill Reid, Massimo Robberto, Elena Sabbi, Leonardo Ubeda. The EROs were also made possible by the foundational efforts and support from the JWST instruments, STScI planning and scheduling, Data Management teams, and Office of Public Outreach.

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    MIRI
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    10 June 2022
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F770W, F1000W, F1280W, F1800W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Tarantula Nebula, 30 Doradus, 30 Dor, NGC 2070
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Emission Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
  • Release Date
    September 6, 2022
  • Science Release
    A Cosmic Tarantula, Caught by NASA’s Webb
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

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Image titled James Webb Space Telescope, Tarantula Nebula, NGC 2070. Graphic elements added to image are compass arrows, scale bar, and color key. Image shows wispy pale yellow nebula clouds highlighted with bright blue, purple and pink, surrounding a large black cavity. A few small blue stars are sprinkled at the right edge of the cavity and in the cloud. At the bottom left are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The north arrow points straight up to 12 o'clock. The east arrow points straight left to 9 o’clock. At the lower right is a scale bar labeled 25 light-years. The length of the scale bar is about one-sixth the total width of the image. Below the image is a color key showing which MIRI filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right, MIRI filters are: F770W is dark blue, F1000W is light blue, F1280W is green, F1800W is red.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the MIRI instrument. Several filters were used to sample broad 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:   Red: F1800W Green: F1280W Blue: F1000W Blue: F770W

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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

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

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