A Cloud in the Deep Sky

Day 13 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: a cloud in the deep sky. This image, featuring the central region of the Chameleon I dark molecular cloud, about 630 light-years away, was taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. Cold, wispy blue clouds are illuminated in the infrared by the glow of the young, outflowing protostar Ced 110 IRS 4 (orange, upper left). The light from numerous background stars, seen as orange dots behind the cloud, can be used to detect ices in the cloud, which absorb the starlight passing through them.

See the full advent calendar here, where a new image will be revealed each day until December 25.