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Serpens (NIRCam Compass Image)

An image labeled “James Webb Space Telescope, Serpens Nebula.” At the center of the image is a nebula on the black background of space. 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. The center of the image is filled with mostly blue gas. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field, brightest sources in the field have extensive eight-pointed diffraction spikes. At lower left, a white arrow pointing in the 8 o’clock direction is labeled N for north, while an arrow pointing in the 5 o‘clock direction is labeled E for east. At top right, a scale bar is labeled .25 light-years. At the bottom is a list of NIRCam filters in different colors, from left to right: F140M (blue), F210M (cyan), F360W (orange), F480M (red).

This image of the Serpens Nebula, 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 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. One light-year is equal to about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers.

This image shows invisible near-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which NIRCam 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.
    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 6.3 arcminutes across (1.8 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). 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.
    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.
    Serpens Nebula, HBC 672, [EC 92] 82
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Reflection nebula and star forming region
  • Release Date
    June 20, 2024
  • Science Release
    First-of-Its-Kind Detection Made in Striking New Webb Image
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI)

Downloads

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  • Full Res (For Display), 12682 × 10446
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An image labeled “James Webb Space Telescope, Serpens Nebula.” At the center of the image is a nebula on the black background of space. 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. The center of the image is filled with mostly blue gas. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field, brightest sources in the field have extensive eight-pointed diffraction spikes. At lower left, a white arrow pointing in the 8 o’clock direction is labeled N for north, while an arrow pointing in the 5 o‘clock direction is labeled E for east. At top right, a scale bar is labeled .25 light-years. At the bottom is a list of NIRCam filters in different colors, from left to right: F140M (blue), F210M (cyan), F360W (orange), F480M (red).
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

Related Images & Videos

A rectangular image 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. The center of the image is filled with mostly blue gas. At the center, there is one particularly bright star, that has an hourglass shadow above and below it. To the right of that is what looks a vertical eye-shaped crevice with a bright star at the center. The gas to the right of the crevice is a darker orange. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field, brightest sources in the field have extensive eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of the Webb Telescope.

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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. The center of the image is filled with mostly blue gas. At the center, there is one particularly bright star, that has an hourglass shadow above and below it. To the right of that is what looks a vertical eye-shaped crevice with a bright star at the center. The gas to the right of the crevice is a darker orange. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field, brightest sources in the field have extensive eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of the Webb Telescope.

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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. The center of the image is filled with mostly blue gas. At the center, there is one particularly bright star, that has an hourglass shadow above and below it. To the right of that is what looks a vertical eye-shaped crevice with a bright star at the center. The gas to the right of the crevice is a darker orange. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field, brightest sources in the field have extensive eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of the Webb Telescope.

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Telescope image including distant stars is overlaid with a semi-transparent graphic representing the constellations Serpens, Scutum, and Sagittarius. Thin blue lines connect the actual stars of the constellations.

Zoom to the Serpens Nebula

This zoom-in video shows the relative location of the Serpens Nebula on the sky. It begins with a ground-based photo by the late astrophotographer Akira Fujii, then transitions into a plate from the Digitized Sky Survey. Next, an image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope...

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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, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI)

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