Sagittarius B2 (NIRCam image, annotated)

This image of the Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) molecular cloud, captured by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument includes compass arrows, scale bar, and colour key for reference.

To create this image, near-infrared wavelengths of light have been translated into visible-light colours. The colour key at the bottom shows which NIRCam filters were used, and which visible-light colour was assigned to that filter.

The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).

[Image description: A region of space filled with stars and clumps of orange clouds. At the top right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The north arrow points to 3 o’clock, and the east arrow points to 12 o’clock. At the lower right is a scale bar labeled 10 light-years. The length of the scale bar is about 5 times the total width of the image. Below the image is a colour key showing which filters were used to create the image and which visible-light colour is assigned to each filter. From left to right, the filters are: F150W, F182M, and F187N are blue; F212N and F210M are cyan; F300M and F360M are green; F405N is yellow; F410M is light orange; F466N and F480M are orange.]