Distant cradles of stars

James Webb Space Telescope unveils star formation in gas and dust networks of other galaxies. NASA / ESA / CSA / Judy Schmidt (CC BY 2. The first images of the James Webb Space Telescope are helping to uncover the missing pieces of the star formation puzzle in nearby galaxies. Data from the powerful infrared telescope are revealing previously hidden regions where new stars are born. These images provide the first clues as to how networks of gas and dust become the site of active star formation. Astronomers from around the world, including scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, want to unravel some of the last mysteries of star formation in galaxies. The study, called Physics at High Angular Resolution in Nearby Galaxies with JWST (Phangs-JWST), led by Janice Lee, principal investigator of the Gemini Observatory at the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab in Tucson, Arizona, USA, analyses images from the James Webb Space Telescope. The team's latest results were recently published in a special issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters.