Sagittarius B2 | NIRCam MIRI Filter comparison

  • Released Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Sagittarius B2 NIRCAM and MIRI ross fade loop

Sagittarius B2 MIRI overlayed on NIRCAM

NIRCam filters capture near-infrared light,the images tend to show stars more prominently with features like diffraction spikes, as stars are brighter at shorter wavelengths. MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) Saggitarious A in unprecedented detail, including glowing cosmic dust heated by very young massive stars. The reddest area on the right half of MIRI’s image, known as Sagittarius B2 North, is one of the most molecularly rich regions known, but astronomers have never seen it with such clarity.

Sagittarius B2 NIRCam and MIRI filters with slide back to NIRCam

Sagittarius B2 Crossfade between NIRCam and MIRI filters

NIRCam filters capture near-infrared light,the images tend to show stars more prominently with features like diffraction spikes, as stars are brighter at shorter wavelengths. MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) Saggitarious A in unprecedented detail, including glowing cosmic dust heated by very young massive stars. The reddest area on the right half of MIRI’s image, known as Sagittarius B2 North, is one of the most molecularly rich regions known, but astronomers have never seen it with such clarity.



Credits

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Adam Ginsburg (University of Florida), Nazar Budaiev (University of Florida), Taehwa Yoo (University of Florida); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)


Missions

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Release date

This page was originally published on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 9:57 AM EST.