TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE CONTEXT: Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a stunning image of the dense center of the Milky Way galaxy with clarity never seen before.
Sagittarius C (Sgr C)
- It is the star-forming region known situated approximately 300 light-years from the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*.
- It is revealing a bustling cluster of protostars within an infrared-dark cloud.
- These nascent stars are in the process of accumulating mass, their outflows glowing intensely in the infrared spectrum, akin to embers in a cosmic bonfire.
- The cloud that protostars are emerging from is so dense that the light from stars behind it cannot reach Webb.
- Scattered throughout are smaller infrared-dark clouds, akin to celestial voids against the starry backdrop, signaling the birthplaces of future stars.
- Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) has detected extensive emissions from ionised hydrogen on the periphery of the dark cloud, highlighted in a striking cyan hue.
Key facts about James Webb Space Telescope
- It was built in collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency.
- It was launched in December 2021.
- It is presently at a point in space known as the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point.
- Lagrange Point 2 is one of the five points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system.
- It’s the largest, most powerful infrared space telescope ever built.
- Objectives: It will examine every phase of cosmic history, from the Big Bang to the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets to the evolution of our Solar System.