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Herbig-Haro 49/50 (NIRCam and MIRI Compass Image)

Image titled “James Webb Space Telescope; Stellar Jets; Herbig-Haro 49-50,” with compass arrows and color key. In the center is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. At the end of the cone there is background spiral-shaped galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outwards to blend in with red spiral arms. At the bottom left is a scale bar labeled 0.05 light-years. The length of the scale bar is about one sixth of the total image. At the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The east arrow points toward 2 o’clock. The north arrow points in the 5 o’clock direction. Below the image is a color key showing which NIRCam and MIRI filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right: F200W is blue, F335M is cyan, F444W is green, F470N is orange, and F770W is red.

This image of Herbig-Haro 49/50, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), 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 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 0.05 years (or about 18 days) 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.

The scale bar is also labeled in arcseconds, which is a measure of angular distance on the sky. One arcsecond is equal an angular measurement of 1/3600 of one degree. There are 60 arcminutes in a degree and 60 arcseconds in an arcminute. (The full Moon has an angular diameter of about 30 arcminutes.) The actual size of an object that covers one arcsecond on the sky depends on its distance from the telescope.

This image shows invisible near- and mid-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which NIRCam and 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 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.
    11:05:56.2
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -77:33:31.7
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Chamaeleon
  • 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.
    625 light-years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is 2.13 arcmin across (about 0.3 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: 6558 (M. Garcia Marin). Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam, MIRI
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    06 August 2024
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    NIRCam: F200W, F335M, F444W, F470N; MIRI: F770W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Herbig-Haro 49/50, HH 49/50
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Stellar Jets
  • Release Date
    March 24, 2025
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Telescope Unmasks True Nature of the Cosmic Tornado
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

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Image titled “James Webb Space Telescope; Stellar Jets; Herbig-Haro 49-50,” with compass arrows and color key. In the center is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. At the end of the cone there is background spiral-shaped galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outwards to blend in with red spiral arms. At the bottom left is a scale bar labeled 0.05 light-years. The length of the scale bar is about one sixth of the total image. At the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The east arrow points toward 2 o’clock. The north arrow points in the 5 o’clock direction. Below the image is a color key showing which NIRCam and MIRI filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right: F200W is blue, F335M is cyan, F444W is green, F470N is orange, and F770W 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 NIRCam and MIRI instruments. Several filters were used to sample specific 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: F770W, Orange: F470N, Green: F444W, Cyan: F335M, Blue: F200W

Related Images & Videos

Angled from the upper left corner to the lower right corner is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. This feature takes up about three-fourths of the length of this angle. The upper left end of this feature has a translucent, rounded end. The conical feature widens slightly from the rounded end at the upper right down to the lower right. Along the cone there are additional rounded edges, like edges of a wave, and intricate foamy-like details, as well as a clearer view of the black background of space. In the upper left, overlapping with the rounded end of Herbig-Haro 49/50, is a background spiral galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outward to blend with red spiral arms. The background of space is speckled with some white stars and smaller, more numerous, fainter white galaxies throughout.

Herbig-Haro 49/50 (NIRCam and MIRI Image)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed Herbig-Haro 49/50, an outflow from a nearby still-forming star, in high-resolution near- and mid-infrared light. The young star is off to the lower right corner of the Webb image.Intricate features of the outflow, represented in...

A side-by-side comparison of a Spitzer infrared image of Herbig-Haro 49/50 (HH 49/50) (left) versus a Webb infrared image (right) of the same object. In Spitzer’s view of the cone-shaped nebula with tornado-like features shows rainbow colors in shades of blue at tip, changing into green hues then orange hues down the cone towards the lower right. The background is punctuated with white small galaxies. A round blur with a blue core and reddish halo appears at the tip of the cone. The Webb view of HH 49/50 is dominated with shades of orange-red colors, rich in details throughout the cone-shaped nebula. The round blur at the tip of the nebula is resolved into spiral galaxy. The galaxy has a concentrated blue center that fades outwards to blend in with red spiral arms. The black background speckled with some white stars and smaller, fainter, and more detailed white galaxies.

Herbig-Haro 49/50 (Spitzer and Webb Images)

This side-by-side comparison shows a Spitzer Space Telescope image of HH 49/50 (left) versus a Webb image of the same object (right) using the NIRCam (Near-infrared Camera) instrument and MIRI (Mid-infrared Instrument). The Webb image shows intricate details of the heated gas...

Angled from the upper left corner to the lower right corner is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. This feature takes up about three-fourths of the length of this angle. The upper left end of this feature has a translucent, rounded end. The conical feature widens slightly from the rounded end at the upper right down to the lower right. Along the cone there are additional rounded edges, like edges of a wave, and intricate foamy-like details, as well as a clearer view of the black background of space. In the upper left, overlapping with the rounded end of Herbig-Haro 49/50, is a background spiral galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outward to blend with red spiral arms. The background of space is speckled with some white stars and smaller, more numerous, fainter white galaxies throughout.

Herbig-Haro 49/50 Stellar Jets

This visualization examines the three-dimensional structure of Herbig-Haro 49/50 (HH 49/50) as seen in near- and mid-infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope. HH 49/50 is an outflow produced by the jet of a nearby still-forming star in the Chamaeleon I Cloud complex, one...

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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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