Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope shows where stars are born and how they die

A batch of 4 new images include shots of a glittering ‘landscape’ in the Carina Nebula, and the orange and blue cloud surrounding a dying star

Also featured is Stephan’s Quintet – 5 galaxies in a cosmic dance, 290 million light-years away

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The edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula is captured in infrared light by Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope. Image: Nasa, ESA, CSA, and STScI via EPA-EFE

Published: 12:39am, 13 Jul 2022Updated: 8:07am, 13 Jul 2022

Nasa on Tuesday unveiled a new batch of images from its new powerful space telescope, including a foamy blue and orange shot of a dying star.

The first image from the US$10 billion James Webb Space Telescope was released Monday at the White House – a jumble of distant galaxies that went deeper into the cosmos than humanity has ever seen.

The four additional photos released on Tuesday included more cosmic beauty shots.

Images released on Tuesday show a side-by-side comparison of observations of the Southern Ring Nebula in near-infrared light (left) and mid-infrared light. About 2,500 light-years away, it shows an expanding cloud of gas surrounding a dying star. Images: Nasa, ESA, CSA and STScI via AP

With one exception, the latest images showed parts of the universe seen by other telescopes.

But Webb’s sheer power, distant location off Earth and use of the infrared light spectrum showed them in new light.

“Every image is a new discovery and each will give humanity a view of the humanity that we’ve never seen before,’’ Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson said on Tuesday, rhapsodising over images showing “the formation of stars, devouring black holes”.

Webb’s use of the infrared light spectrum allows the telescope to see through the cosmic dust and “see light from faraway light from the corners of the universe”, he said.