Herbig Haro 49/50 | HH49 HH50 | James Webb Space Telescope by Deep Field

Explore the spectacular Herbig-Haro 49/50, a powerful outflow from a young, still-forming star, captured in high-resolution infrared light by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The reddish-orange arcs reveal where the star’s fast-moving jet collides with surrounding gas and dust, creating a cosmic wake that helps astronomers understand how young stars form and shape their environment.

At the tip of the outflow, a remarkable coincidence appears: a much more distant spiral galaxy aligned perfectly in the background. Its blue central bulge reveals older stars, while reddish clumps in its spiral arms mark warm dust and regions of ongoing star formation.

Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments reveal molecular hydrogen and carbon monoxide within the Herbig-Haro object, while countless more distant galaxies appear throughout the background.

The image is presented with a scientific information layer that adds context to the astronomical object, including its name, classification, distance from Earth, constellation, field of view, and the filters used to create the image. The filter information is visualized with colours according to the JWST naming convention for their bands.

The artwork is created from the highest-resolution source material published by ESA/Webb and is suitable for large-format printing.