Starry Bar

A dense bar of gas and dust slices across this September 11 image of the Orion Nebula snapped by James Webb Space Telescope. The nebula, which is about 1,350 light-years away, is a rich stellar nursery, with wisps of gas and dust collapsing to form new stars. In this image, however, ultraviolet energy from brilliant stars at top right is eroding the surrounding cloud, blowing away the raw materials for making more stars. That radiation has helped trigger the formation of the bar, which is much denser than the surrounding filaments. The brilliant star Theta 2 Orionis A, a little below center, is enshrouded by a cocoon of dust, which glows red as the result of light from the star. [NASA/ESA/CSA/PDRs4All ERS Team]