The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a new image of the 'Treasure Chest,' a cometary globule within the Carina Nebula, revealing approximately 70 newborn stars, including a rare O-type star.
The image, shared on August 21, 2026, showcases the Treasure Chest, a cloud of gas and dust located 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Carina. This region is known as one of the Milky Way’s richest star-forming areas, spanning roughly 260 light-years and containing massive stars and tens of thousands of young protostars. The Carina Nebula also contains the “Cosmic Cliffs,” previously imaged by the JWST in 2022.
The Treasure Chest is a cometary globule, characterized by a dense head and sweeping tail, resembling an open treasure chest with light emanating from within. The JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera detected a cluster of about 70 young stars embedded in the dust. The most massive star in the cluster is an O-type star, measuring roughly 19 times the mass of the sun. These stars are extremely large, bright, and have short lifespans.
Astronomers estimate the cluster to be around 1.3 million years old, though earlier estimates suggested a younger age of 100,000 years. Many of the stars remain surrounded by the gas and dust from their formation. Radiation from the stars will eventually disperse this material, revealing currently hidden stars.
The Treasure Chest’s shape is also influenced by Eta Carinae, a luminous object approximately 39 light-years away. Eta Carinae underwent a significant eruption in the 19th century, becoming one of the brightest stars in the night sky. The system contains at least two stars, one of which is about 100 times the mass of the sun and 5 million times as luminous. Its radiation, along with that of the nearby Trumpler 16 star cluster, is eroding the Treasure Chest’s gas and sculpting its form.
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