“Dusty Ribbons” of Cluster NGC 346 (NIRCam)

NGC 346 resides in our neighboring dwarf galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud. It has a composition much closer to that of galaxies from the early universe - when star formation was at its peak. By observing this dynamic region, astronomers may learn what early star formation in far-off galaxies might have looked like. Webb’s sensitivity allows it to see much smaller protostars (baby stars) than previously observed. The telescope can even see the dust in the disks of gas around those protostars. Essentially, Webb is viewing the building blocks of not just stars, but also potentially planets. This could provide insight as to whether rocky planets formed earlier in the universe than originally thought.