James Webb Space Telescope Herbig-Haro 49/50 Cosmic Tornado
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured a stunning image of Herbig-Haro 49/50 (HH 49/50), which is located approximately 630 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Chamaeleon. Why cosmic tornado? Scientists nicknamed this chaotic region as such due to its helical appearance.



You may have seen Hubble’s version of HH 49/50, but Webb’s image is particularly striking because it captures the outflow from this forming star in incredible infrared detail, thanks to its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). We can see reddish-orange jets bursting out from the protostar, crashing into the surrounding dusty environment. These jets form arcs and bow shocks—curved structures that look almost like waves or ripples in space—revealing the dynamic interaction between the star’s material and its surroundings.

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James Webb Space Telescope Herbig-Haro 49/50 Cosmic Tornado
One thing you’ll notice right off the bat in this image is the appearance of a peculiar spiral galaxy positioned right above HH 49/50. This galaxy, located much farther away, just so happens to align by chance with the outflow, thus creating a stunning visual pairing. Its spiral arms add a splash of color and contrast to the scene, though it’s completely unrelated to the Herbig-Haro object—purely a line-of-sight effect.