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Two Views of the Tarantula Nebula (NIRCam and MIRI images)

Two nebula images side by side with the same basic shapes and structures but different coloring and details. Image on left has tan clouds with rust-colored highlights, surrounding a black central area containing a bright cluster of sparkling pale blue stars that scatter outward from a densely packed center. One bright yellow star stands out in the central open area, with eight long thin points. The image on the right has clouds in the same basic formation but brighter and thinner. Areas are highlighted with bright blue, purple and ghostly pink. The bright cluster of stars is noticeably absent, with only a few blue specs remaining. One clump of cloud stands out bright blue in the cluster area- in the left-hand image it is less noticeable in the midst of the bright stars as a rust-colored cloud. The one star alone in the open area still stands out, but it appears small and blue, with its eight star points very small instead of elongated like in the left-hand image.

A side-by-side display of the same region of the Tarantula Nebula brings out the distinctions between Webb’s near-infrared (closer to visible red, left) and mid-infrared (further from visible red, right) images. Each portion of the electromagnetic spectrum reveals and conceals different features, making data in different wavelengths valuable to astronomers for understanding the physics taking place. 

The image captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam, left) features bright, hot features, like the sparkling cluster of massive young stars, and the bright star to their upper left, featuring Webb’s distinctive diffraction spikes. Young, emerged stars shine blue, while scattered red points indicate stars that are still enshrouded in dust. Structure in the nebula, carved by the stellar winds of the massive young stars, is intricately detailed. 

In the view from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), the hot young stars fade, and cooler gas takes the spotlight. Much of the nebula takes on a ghostly appearance in the mid-infrared, because these longer wavelengths of light are able to penetrate the dust clouds and reach Webb. Previously hidden bubbles and dust-embedded stars emerge. A particularly prominent, spherically shaped bubble – being blown out by a newborn star – appears in the MIRI image just to the right of the now-darkened central star cluster. 

Another difference between the two images is the appearance of the bright, lone star at the top of the nebula’s cavity. In the MIRI image (right) the star is fainter relative to the surrounding nebula, so the glare and the distortion of Webb’s diffraction spikes are much less prominent. 

In the midst of the central cluster of young stars, one dense gas clump is clearly visible in both images – it is one of the last, dense remnants of the nebula that the young cluster stars’ stellar winds have not yet eroded away. 

NIRCam was built by a team at the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center.

MIRI was contributed by ESA and NASA, with the instrument designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with JPL and the University of Arizona.

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)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Each panel is 2.64 arcmin across (about 130 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 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.
    NIRCam, MIRI
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    2 and 10 June 2022
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    NIRCam: F090W, F200W, F335M, F444W; MIRI: 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

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 2796 × 1057
    tif (5.22 MB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 2796 × 1057
    png (4.44 MB)
  • 2000 × 756
    png (2.43 MB)
Two nebula images side by side with the same basic shapes and structures but different coloring and details. Image on left has tan clouds with rust-colored highlights, surrounding a black central area containing a bright cluster of sparkling pale blue stars that scatter outward from a densely packed center. One bright yellow star stands out in the central open area, with eight long thin points. The image on the right has clouds in the same basic formation but brighter and thinner. Areas are highlighted with bright blue, purple and ghostly pink. The bright cluster of stars is noticeably absent, with only a few blue specs remaining. One clump of cloud stands out bright blue in the cluster area- in the left-hand image it is less noticeable in the midst of the bright stars as a rust-colored cloud. The one star alone in the open area still stands out, but it appears small and blue, with its eight star points very small instead of elongated like in the left-hand image.
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 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: NIRCamRed: F444WOrange: F335MGreen: F200WBlue: F090W MIRI Red: F1800WGreen: F1280WBlue: F1000WBlue: F770W

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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 Tan-colored nebula clouds with rust-colored highlights, surrounding a black central area containing a bright cluster of sparkling pale blue stars that scatter outward from a densely packed center. At the bottom left are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The north arrow points in the 11 o'clock direction. The east arrow points toward 8 o'clock. At the lower right is a scale bar labeled 50 light-years. The length of the scale bar is about one-eighth the total width of the image. Below the image is a color key showing which NIRCam filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right, NIRCam filters are: F090W is blue, F200W is green, F335M is orange, F444W is red.

Tarantula Nebula (NIRCam Compass Image)

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...

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.

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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, Webb ERO Production Team

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