IC 348, Jigsaw Puzzle

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IC 348:

This image, captured by the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Astronomers combed the cluster in search of tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs: objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. They found three brown dwarfs that are less than eight times the mass of Jupiter. The smallest weighs just three to four times that of Jupiter, challenging theories of star formation.

The wispy curtains filling the image are interstellar material reflecting the light from the cluster's stars – what is known as a reflection nebula. The material also includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. The bright star closest to the center of the frame is actually a pair of type B stars in a binary system, which are the most massive stars in the cluster. Winds from these stars may help sculpt the large loop seen on the right side of the field of view.

Constellation             Perseus

Distance                    About 1,000 light-years

Dimensions               This image is about 1.9 arcminutes across (.6 light-years)

Exposure Dates:       28 August 2022