Quoth the raven “Nevermore.” 🐦‍⬛⁣ ⁣ Once upon a midnight dreary, the NASAWebb telescope captured this haunting view of star-forming region NGC 346 in mid-infrared light. The creepy blue tendrils that make up this “raven” represent dusty silicates and sooty chemical molecules, while the red glow represents warm dust heated by the brightest and most massive stars at the heart of the region. This area is also abundant with baby stars still embedded in their dusty cocoons.⁣ ⁣ NGC 346 is part of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. It has a composition much closer to that of galaxies from the early universe and possesses fewer heavy elements. Accordingly, scientists did not expect much cosmic dust, which is formed by heavy elements. However, both Webb’s new mid-infrared look at NGC 346 and its past near-infrared view (released Jan. 2023) show plenty of dust! Learn more at NASAWebb's link in bio.⁣ ⁣ Image descriptions:⁣ ⁣ 1. The lower half of the image contains a...