The high resolution and mid-infrared sensitivity of Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) revealed this region in unprecedented detail, including glowing cosmic dust heated by very young massive stars. The reddest area, known as Sagittarius B2 North, (note: north is to the right in these Webb images) is one of the most molecularly rich regions known, but astronomers have never seen it with such clarity.

The difference longer wavelengths of light make, even within the infrared spectrum, are stark when comparing the images from Webb’s MIRI and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instruments. Glowing gas and dust appear dramatically in mid-infrared light, while all but the brightest stars disappear from view.

In contrast to MIRI, colourful stars steal the show in Webb’s NIRCam image, punctuated occasionally by bright clouds of gas and dust. Further research into these stars will reveal details of their masses and ages, which will help astronomers better understand the process of star formation in this dense, active galactic centre region. Has it been going on for millions of years? Or has some unknown process triggered it only recently?

Astronomers hope Webb will shed light on why star formation in the galactic centre is so disproportionate. Though the region is stocked with plenty of gaseous raw material, on the whole it is not nearly as productive as Sagittarius B2. While Sagittarius B2 has only 10 percent of the galactic centre’s gas, it produces 50 percent of its stars.