--- title: "Astronomers Are Losing Their Minds Over “Breathtaking” New James Webb Images" description: "New James Webb Space Telescope images of the Orion Nebula reveal why this spacecraft continues to wow even the most no-nonsense scientists." date: "2022-09-14" modified: "2022-09-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-jwst-orion-images" categories: - "James Webb Space Telescope" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "CNRS" - "cosmic filaments" - "James webb" - "james webb space telescope" - "JWST" - "NASA" - "nebula" - "Orion" - "the digest" --- # Astronomers Are Losing Their Minds Over “Breathtaking” New James Webb Images ![New James Webb Space Telescope images of the Orion Nebula reveal why this spacecraft continues to wow even the most no-nonsense scientists.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Hyped Up The James Webb Space Telescope continues to wow even the most no-nonsense scientists, as evidenced by a statement put out by some of the NASA craft's Canadian collaborators. "We are blown away by the breathtaking images of the Orion Nebula," Els Peeters, an astrophysicist at Ontario's Western University, said in a [statement]() about a newly-released set of images that show more of the famed nebula than ever seen before. "We started this project in 2017," Peeters added, "so we have been waiting more than five years to get these data." https://twitter.com/OliBerne/status/1569329279896547328 Indeed, these new images of the [much-photographed Orion Nebula]() reveal in crisper and richer detail than ever before the "filaments" and gas clouds that astronomers believe cause stars to form — a stunning, in-depth look at an astrophysics favorite located some 1,300 light-years away. "These new observations allow us to better understand how massive stars transform the gas and dust cloud in which they are born," Peeters added. ## Star Stuff These latest Orion images were obtained by an international consortium of academics, including Ontario's Western University as well as France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), as part of a project known as Photodissociation Regions for All that in total includes more than 100 scientists from 18 countries. As IAS associate professor Emilie Habart noted, these shots show in much more detail than ever before the mysterious ways star-incubating nebulas like Orion work. "We have never been able to see the intricate fine details of how interstellar matter is structured in these environments, and to figure out how planetary systems can form in the presence of this harsh radiation," Habart said in the press release. "These images reveal the heritage of the interstellar medium in planetary systems." Translation: these images are a classic and breathtaking example of Webb's mandate: to look back into our universe's history and see how stars were made. Given how stoked these scientists are by this revelation, it looks like the JWST is working exactly as planned — and may even exceed astronomers' wildest dreams. **READ MORE:** [Astronomers “Blown Away” by First Breathtaking Webb Space Telescope Images of Orion Nebula]() \[Western University\] **More Webb wonder:** *[Scientists Puzzled Because James Webb Is Seeing Stuff That Shouldn't Be There]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()