Webb’s First Deep Field (MIRI and NIRCam Images Side by Side)

This video features the views of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI and NIRCam instruments of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723.

The differences in Webb’s images are owed to the technical capabilities of the MIRI and NIRCam instruments. MIRI captures mid-infrared light, which highlights where the dust is. Dust is a major ingredient for star formation. Stars are brighter at shorter wavelengths, which is why they appear with prominent diffraction spikes in the NIRCam image.