Two views of the same object, a forming protostar surrounded by a large hourglass-shaped nebula known as L1527. Webb’s near-infrared image is at left, and its mid-infrared image is at right. The hourglass is slightly larger in near-infrared. Here, a bright orange protostar lies at the center, where the two triangles meet. In front of the protostar is a thin grey line, its accretion disk. Above the protostar is an orange, triangular cloud of gas that points to the top left. Below the protostar is another triangular cloud of gas that points to the bottom right. The area closest to the protostar is a blend of pronounced blue and orange plumes of gas. At right, the mid-infrared image shows a bright red central region, where the protostar resides, with a thin, gray lane cutting through it horizontally, the protostar’s accretion disk. Above and below this region are white and blue triangular-shaped cavities in the molecular cloud, which give the overall object an hourglass shape.
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