Webb Spots ‘Cosmic Tornado’ in Stunning Detail

Webb has imaged phantasmal billows of bright orange space gas, captured in vibrant detail 630 light-years from Earth. This is the dazzling power of the Webb Space Telescope on full display, revealing the protostellar outflow Herbig Haro 49/50 (or HH 49/50) from the telescope’s perch in space, about one million miles from Earth. Herbig-Haro objects are outflows of material produced by a star’s jets. The large outflows move through material, creating shock waves in space that heat the material; as the material cools, it produces light—revealing objects like the glowing orange outflow above. HH 49/50 was dubbed the Cosmic Tornado in 2006, when it was discovered by scientists using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Webb has better resolution than Spitzer, giving scientists a more precise view of the outflow’s features. Furthermore, the object at the tip of the outflow—seen by Spitzer as a blue splotch—is now clearly visible, allowing scientists to identify it as a spiral galaxy. Webb’s i ... Read full article.