Starship Asterisk*

Complementarity of the Tarantula

The combination of detailed X-ray images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and infrared observations with JWST gives us startling new views of the often hidden process of star formation in our Galaxy and beyond. Infrared observations of star-forming regions provide a detailed view of cold dense gas and dust, the raw materials from which stars (and planets) form, and JWST provides the most sensitive views of this emission we've ever had. But star forming clouds are dynamic regions, and X-ray images from Chandra provide the best view of how the winds from young hot stars bulldoze this material, re-arranging and compressing matter, sometimes helping new stars form in some regions, sometimes suppressing star birth in others. The image above is an premier example of how Chandra and JWST can work together to provide spectacular new views of star formation. This image is of a large, bright, well-studied star forming region, the so-called "Tarantula Nebula" (aka 30 Doradus), in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Chandra X-ray image is shown in dark blue, while the JWST infrared image is in lighter blue and red, orange, and green. The X-ray and JWST images are complementary - the Chandra image shows how hot X-ray gas produced by stellar winds fills the voids in the gas and dust seen in the infrared. These images help reveal new details of how stellar winds and powerful ultraviolet radiation from the young massive stars reshape their environments and fundamentally alter the star formation process with time.