To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first public planetarium, which was founded in Munich, Germany, NASA and its partners created a 3D version of the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) iconic “Cosmic Cliffs” image.
The incredible image of the Carina Nebula, nicknamed the “Cosmic Cliffs,” was one of Webb’s first five photos revealed in July 2022. It quickly became one of Webb’s most famous shots. With the aid of visualization and image processing experts at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Caltech/IPAC, and those at NASA’s Universe of Learning AstroViz project, the new 3D visualization is part of a broader video project designed to engage the public.
“Bringing this amazing Webb image to life helps the public to comprehend the three-dimensional structure inherent in the 2D image, and to develop a better mental model of the universe,” says STScI’s Frank Summers, principal visualization scientist and leader of the AstroViz Project.
“The landscape of ‘mountains’ and ‘valleys’ known as the Cosmic Cliffs is actually a portion of the nebula Gum 31, which contains a young star cluster called NGC 3324,” STScI explains. “Both Gum 31 and NGC 3324 are part of a vast star-forming region known as the Carina Nebula Complex.”
The stars in NGC 3324 create ultraviolet light and stellar winds, which scientists believe carved out the “cavernous area” within Gum 31. A part of this giant bubble is visible above the Cosmic Cliffs, although the star cluster itself is outside the field of view.
The mist-like “steam” above the Cosmic Cliffs is super-hot ionized gas and dust careening through space away from the nebula, “under an onslaught of relentless ultraviolet radiation.”
Viewers can also see very bright, yellow streaks and arcs in the video. These are outflows from young, growing stars embedded in the Cosmic Cliffs. In the latter part of the visualization video, the “camera” moves past a protostellar jet in the upper right portion of the frame.
The larger video exhibit that the new visualization is part of is currently running at nearly 200 museums and planetariums across the United States. Many more interactive and educational visualizations of the cosmos are available from ViewSpace.
Credits: Video:
Producer: Greg Bacon & Frank Summers (STScI), NASA’s Universe of Learning, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Visualization: Greg Bacon, Ralf Crawford, Joseph DePasquale, Leah Hustak, Danielle Kirshenblat, Christian Nieves, Joseph Olmsted, Alyssa Pagan, & Frank Summers (STScI)
Author of Original Release: Christine Pulliam
Narrator: Jacob Pinter
Support/Editor for Shortened Version: Paul Morris
Images: NASA, ESA, CSA, STSci
Music Credit:
“One Way Journey” by Timothy James Cormick [PRS], and Matthew Jacob Loveridge via BBC Production Music [PRS], and Universal Production Music.
Source link
