A smile written in starlight ✨
For World Smile Day (3 October), here’s a reminder that the Universe has its own way of beaming back at us.
This glittering scene shows Pismis 24, a young star cluster at the heart of the Lobster Nebula, 5500 light-years away in Scorpius.
What looks like a rugged, glowing landscape is in fact a cosmic dust-scape being carved apart by fierce winds and radiation from massive, newborn stars. Among them is Pismis 24-1 — once thought to be the most massive star ever seen, and now known to be at least two enormous stars bound together.
Captured by
@esawebb, thousands of jewel-like stars sparkle across the view, with towering orange spires and wisps of gas sculpted into fantastic shapes by stellar energy.
A cosmic smile — reminding us that even in the vastness of space, light and joy can take shape.
📸
@NASA,
@europeanspaceagency,
@canadianspaceagency,
@space_telescopes;
@creativecommons CC BY 4.0
📹 NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)
📹 NASA, E...