Cassiopeia A NIRCam/MIRI (IMAGE)
Caption
This image provides a side-by-side comparison of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) as captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). Objects in space reveal different aspects of their composition and behavior at different wavelengths. The outskirts of Cas A’s main inner shell, which appeared as a deep orange and red in the MIRI image, look like smoke from a campfire in the NIRCam image. The dust in the circumstellar material being slammed into by the shockwave is too cool to be detected directly at near-infrared wavelengths, but lights up in the mid-infrared. Also not seen in the near-infrared view is the loop of green light in the central cavity of Cas A that glows in mid-infrared, nicknamed the Green Monster by the research team.
Credit
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University), T. Temim (Princeton University), I. De Looze (University of Gent)
Usage Restrictions
No restrictions.
License
Public Domain