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Protostar EC 53 in the Serpens Nebula (NIRCam Image)

A rectangular image of the Serpens Nebula with black vertical rectangles at the bottom left and top right to indicate missing data. A young star-forming region is filled with wispy orange, red, and blue layers of gas and dust. The upper left corner of the image is filled with mostly orange dust, and within that orange dust, there are several small red plumes of gas that extend from the top left to the bottom right at the same angle. At center-left is a larger star that is circled. This star has Webb’s signature diffraction spikes, but along the right also has an arc of white, with the circular edge starting at the center of the star. Mostly blue gas fills the center. There is a particularly bright central star. The gas to the right is a darker orange. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field. The brightest sources have extensive eight-pointed diffraction spikes.

This image, taken by NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, shows the actively forming protostar EC 53 (circled) in the Serpens Nebula. EC 53 is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk where planets and comets may eventually form. (That disk isn’t an obvious feature for two reasons: It’s tiny from a distance, and dark dust obscures the area.)

Researchers took additional observations of EC 53 using Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to observe the star and its system when it was “quiet” and during its “party-like” burst phase. The team, led by Jeong-Eun Lee of Seoul National University in South Korea, discovered a slew of silicates all across the star’s disk of gas and dust.

MIRI’s spectra turned up crystalline forsterite and enstatite, and amorphous olivine and pyroxene near the star and throughout its protoplanetary disk. Webb’s data also mapped the star’s narrow, high-velocity jets near its poles, its slightly cooler and slower outflows, and the star’s wider and weaker stellar winds.

By showing precisely what is present — and where everything is — the researchers proved that crystalline silicates are being forged in the hot, inner region of the disk of gas and dust around the star, before being shot out into far-flung locales.

Astronomers have long sought evidence to explain why comets at the edge of our own solar system contain crystalline silicates, since these minerals require intense heat to form and comets spend most of their orbits in the ultracold Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. This is the first direct evidence that can explain how that may have happened.

Also see what researchers reported finding about other stars in the Serpens Nebula in 2024.

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 proto-star
  • 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 × 8036
    tif (119.23 MB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 12682 × 8036
    png (122.22 MB)
  • 12682 × 8036
    jpg (64.96 MB)
  • 2000 × 1267
    png (2.84 MB)
A rectangular image of the Serpens Nebula with black vertical rectangles at the bottom left and top right to indicate missing data. A young star-forming region is filled with wispy orange, red, and blue layers of gas and dust. The upper left corner of the image is filled with mostly orange dust, and within that orange dust, there are several small red plumes of gas that extend from the top left to the bottom right at the same angle. At center-left is a larger star that is circled. This star has Webb’s signature diffraction spikes, but along the right also has an arc of white, with the circular edge starting at the center of the star. Mostly blue gas fills the center. There is a particularly bright central star. The gas to the right is a darker orange. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field. The brightest sources have extensive eight-pointed diffraction spikes.
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

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

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.

Image titled u201cJames Webb Space Telescope; Protostar EC 53 in the Serpens Nebula,u201d with compass arrows and color key.

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

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.

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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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