<p>The best match in SIMBAD appears to be the red supergiant
<a href="https://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=W61+7-8" rel="nofollow noreferrer">W61 7-8</a>.
Though it stands out in this near infrared image, in visible light you would need a 30cm or larger telescope to see it (V=13.6).</p>
<p>The parallax of 0.02±0.02 mas should be taken with a grain of salt.
Gaia DR3 estimates the distance to this star as <a href="http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-ref=VIZ6331c6982e6dd&amp;-out.add=.&amp;-source=I/355/gaiadr3&amp;-c=084.70197673659%20-69.09241073724,eq=ICRS,rs=2&amp;-out.orig=o" rel="nofollow noreferrer">16 kpc</a>,
about 1/3 as far away as the nebula.</p>
<p>On the right of the SIMBAD page,
if you select the '2MASS' radio button,
the Aladin Lite image resembles a lower-resolution subset of the JWST image rotated clockwise a little.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/kp3nE.png" alt="2MASS/Aladin Lite image of region in question" /></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-26T12:41:04.490Z
Should be noted that it's foreground star. It's in our Galaxy, not in Large Magellanic Cloud where Tarantula nebula lays. It can be confirmed by the star's parallax ~0.02 mas what gives us the distance about 50 parsecs.
Heopps
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-26T15:45:37.520Z
@Heopps Are you sure? Parallax more like 20 mas for 50 pc distance.
Mike G
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-26T20:19:04.520Z
@Heopps a parallax of $0.02\pm0.02$ mas is consistent with being at any distance *further* than about 25000 pc and certainly consistent with being part of the Magellanic clouds.
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-27T05:05:28.837Z
@ProfRob  - ok, looks like I was wrong. But it should be photometrically estimated parallax, not geometrical parallax like GAIA?
Heopps
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-27T05:56:33.180Z
It is a red supergiant star - so it's spectroscopic parallax would also place it at a large distance consistent with the LMC.
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-25T16:11:41.250Z
2022-09-26T18:39:48.007Z
2022-09-26T18:39:48.007Z
Mike G
<p>After reading this <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/a-cosmic-tarantula-caught-by-nasa-s-webb" rel="noreferrer">NASA article on Tarantula's Nebula</a> of <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/041/01GA76MYFN0FMKNRHGCAGGYCVQ?news=true" rel="noreferrer">this image</a>:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yasnz.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yasnz.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>What is the really bright orange star in the center or upper-left of the young blue stars? The second link further provides information but not enough:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>To the upper left of the cluster of young stars, and the top of the nebula’s cavity, an older star prominently displays NIRCam’s distinctive eight diffraction spikes, an artifact of the telescope’s structure.</p>
</blockquote>

<star><identify-this-object><nebula>
What is the bright orange star?
DialFrost
# What is the bright orange star?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-09-25)

After reading this [NASA article on Tarantula's Nebula](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/a-cosmic-tarantula-caught-by-nasa-s-webb) of [this image](https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/041/01GA76MYFN0FMKNRHGCAGGYCVQ?news=true):

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/yasnz.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/yasnz.jpg)

What is the really bright orange star in the center or upper-left of the young blue stars? The second link further provides information but not enough:

> To the upper left of the cluster of young stars, and the top of the nebula’s cavity, an older star prominently displays NIRCam’s distinctive eight diffraction spikes, an artifact of the telescope’s structure.

**Tags:** star, identify-this-object, nebula


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-09-25. Score: 13 | Accepted answer

The best match in SIMBAD appears to be the red supergiant
[W61 7-8](https://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=W61+7-8).
Though it stands out in this near infrared image, in visible light you would need a 30cm or larger telescope to see it (V=13.6).

The parallax of 0.02±0.02 mas should be taken with a grain of salt.
Gaia DR3 estimates the distance to this star as [16 kpc](http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-ref=VIZ6331c6982e6dd&-out.add=.&-source=I/355/gaiadr3&-c=084.70197673659%20-69.09241073724,eq=ICRS,rs=2&-out.orig=o),
about 1/3 as far away as the nebula.

On the right of the SIMBAD page,
if you select the '2MASS' radio button,
the Aladin Lite image resembles a lower-resolution subset of the JWST image rotated clockwise a little.

![2MASS/Aladin Lite image of region in question](https://i.sstatic.net/kp3nE.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Should be noted that it's foreground star. It's in our Galaxy, not in Large Magellanic Cloud where Tarantula nebula lays. It can be confirmed by the star's parallax ~0.02 mas what gives us the distance about 50 parsecs.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 Are you sure? Parallax more like 20 mas for 50 pc distance.  
> **username_3**: @username_2 a parallax of $0.02\pm0.02$ mas is consistent with being at any distance *further* than about 25000 pc and certainly consistent with being part of the Magellanic clouds.  
> **username_2**: @username_3  - ok, looks like I was wrong. But it should be photometrically estimated parallax, not geometrical parallax like GAIA?  
> **username_3**: It is a red supergiant star - so it's spectroscopic parallax would also place it at a large distance consistent with the LMC.  

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