We have a gift from a star in the past. This beautiful image from NASA's James Webb Telescope is a gift from a star in the past. In near-infrared light, the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) resembles a bright ornament adorning the living rooms of homes during the holiday season.

With its powerful vision, the Webb Telescope can detect the tiniest knots of sulphur, oxygen, argon and neon gas coming from stars. The dust and molecules embedded in the gas will eventually become part of new stars and planets. See the spot in the bottom right? Scientists have dubbed it Baby Cas A because it looks like a small version of Cas A. Baby Cas A is a light echo: Light from the supernova has reached the distant dust inside this blob and is heating it. Although Baby Cas A appears very close to Cas A, it is actually about 170 light years behind the supernova remnant.

We hope that this breathtaking imagery and stunning science will inspire a little magic, wonder and joy in everyone who looks up for a moment at our shared starry night sky.

Image description:

Cassiopeia A is a round cloud of gas and dust with a complex structure. The inner shell is made of bright pink and orange threads decorated with clumps and knots. Around the outer perimeter of the inner shell, especially in the upper right, there are thin curtains of gas that resemble campfire smoke. White smoke-like material also appears to fill the cavity of the inner shell, which contains structures in the form of large bubbles. Around and inside the nebula are several stars, seen as blue and white points of light. There are also clumps of yellow dust outside the nebula, and there is a particularly large clump in the lower right corner that appears to have very detailed streaks.