In the background, it’s impossible not to notice the dense symphony of stars and galaxies scattered across our universe. Some are old, some are new, some are big and others are small – but each one is equally profound to the realm we call home.
The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. Those who have rendered supreme homage to “science falsely so called” will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view. There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the day time we look toward heaven but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster. 5T 80.1
published 26 July 2023
This marks the most detailed image yet of the striking stellar pair Herbig-Haro 46/47.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a tightly bound pair of actively forming stars, known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, in high-resolution near-infrared light. Look for them at the center of the red diffraction spikes, appearing as an orange-white splotch. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA. Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI))
On Wednesday (July 26), scientists announced yet another masterpiece taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. This time around, the machine has presented us with a mesmerizing scene of two actively forming young stars tucked into a pocket of space about 1,470 light-years away.
Produced with the scope’s powerful infrared eyes, the image showcases a striking salmon-colored smear at its center. This represents the area where the stars, collectively named Herbig-Haro 46/47, are found. To be clear, because scientists captured everything you see here by harnessing the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) infrared sensors, this image would have originally been in black-and-white. Those fiery oranges, pale blues and textured pinks you see were added later to enhance the frame and make it easier to glean scientific information from it.
For instance, you’ll see two conical regions of darkness on the glowing splotch’s left and right side. Imagine how the figure is actually in 3D – these structures represent shadows of a gassy, dusty disk floating within the rose-colored blob. This disk tightly surrounds the stellar duo, feeding the baby stars as they grow and mature, a process expected to culminate millions of years from the point the JWST has isolated.
Beyond those structures, NASA calls attention to the main event of the JWST’s latest muse – two huge “lobes” peeking out on either side of the disk. The smaller right lobe falls closer to Earth while the larger left one sits further away.
These lobes are made up of stuff from the dusty disk the stars once ingested, then later spit out into the void of space. Such ejections are considered very important in the act of star formation. You can think of them like a fountain, the agency explains, rapidly switching on and off to form patterns in the pool of our universe. Once these young orbs finish their growth period, they’ll ultimately clear the scene of its chaos.
The agencies of evil are combining their forces, and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.— Testimonies , vol. 9, p 11. (1909).
Ellen G White
Spirit of War Stirring Nations—Fearful tests and trials await the people of God. The spirit of war is stirring the nations from one end of the earth to the other.—Testimonies For The Church 9:17 (1909). Ev 32.1 – Ev 32.2
In the background, it’s impossible not to notice the dense symphony of stars and galaxies scattered across our universe. Some are old, some are new, some are big and others are small – but each one is equally profound to the realm we call home.
Almost like an artist’s signature, the JWST left its classic eight-pronged diffraction spikes all throughout the image (two of the spikes are tinier than the other six, running horizontally through the center). Photos produced by the Hubble Space Telescope, for instance, exhibit four-spiked stars. It really depends on how many mirrors a machine has – which is why they’re called “diffraction spikes” – but when you see those eight, you’ll know it’s a JWST image.
Using these features as a guide, there are a few intriguing goodies to zoom in on. If you lower your eyes to the central red diffraction spikes, you’ll catch Herbig-Haro 46/47’s most recent ejections. These are shown as strings of blue that move outward until they turn into a light purple halo. Around this diffraction structure are curly, pale blue lines (toward the left) which NASA says are also associated with the stars’ ejection patterns. Don’t worry, both are relatively difficult to see as they’re so close to the JWST’s spiky penmanship.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke:21:28
Though what you most definitely cannot miss is the ethereal azure curtain shrouding that angry red blob in the middle.
This is another cosmic object known as a nebula, a massive cloud of dust and gas. The JWST is specifically built to filter past such hazes and allow us to peek into whatever lies within – in this case, Herbig-Haro 46/47. In fact, because of that JWST capability, this image marks the most detailed portrait of these stars to date. Thanks to the telescope’s high-resolution near-infrared imager and the various exposures it’s programmed to tap into, scientists broke past the nebular veil.
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Further, the nebula is also why the stars’ jets appear to be lit up, according to a press release put out by the JWST team. “As ejected material rams into the nebula on the lower left,” the researchers explain, “it takes on wider shapes, because there is more opportunity for the jets to interact with molecules within the nebula.”
The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. Those who have rendered supreme homage to “science falsely so called” will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view. There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the day time we look toward heaven but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster. 5T 80.1
Testimonies For The Church, Vol5. By Ellen G White
And thus, the sparkling spectacle we’ve now been blessed with: A picture literally worth a thousand words.
The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness. 5T 81.1
It’s so rich with information that even the wealth of image data discussed throughout this article doesn’t quite cover the half of what astronomers will be able to learn from it in terms of how stars form.
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