James Webb Telescope Reveals Star Cluster in Carina Nebula's 'Treasure Chest'

The James Webb Space Telescope's latest Picture of the Month showcases a cometary globule in the Carina Nebula, dubbed the 'Treasure Chest,' located 7,500 light-years away. The globule, an isolated cloud of gas and dust with a dense head and sweeping tail, contains a compact cluster of about 70 young stars, the most massive being a rare O-type star roughly 19 times the Sun's mass. The cluster is estimated to be around 1.3 million years old, though earlier estimates suggested 100,000 years. The stars are embedded in dusty clouds and many have circumstellar discs. The image was captured by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), which can see through the cosmic dust. The shape of the Treasure Chest is influenced by the nearby Eta Carinae star system, located 39 light-years to the northwest, which is the most luminous object in the nebula, with one star 100 times the Sun's mass and five million times as luminous. Scientists are studying the cluster to understand how young stars in the Carina Nebula collect and expel gas. The image credits include ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, and M. Reiter, with acknowledgements to M. H. Özsaraç. This observation builds on Webb's earlier images of the Carina Nebula, which is roughly 260 light-years across.