The last publication of images of the telescope Webb is a special collaboration with the Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists combined data from the two observatories to produce these spectacular images of the Phantom spiral galaxy (also known as Messier 74 and fan galaxy), about 32 million light-years from Earth.
The images capture clouds of gas, dust and star-forming regions in the galaxy in relief. you can even see the distant cosmos beyond the arms color The galaxy’s rust-red, as seen in optical and mid-infrared light.
According to The GuardianMessier 74 is nicknamed the Phantom Galaxy because of how faint it is, making it difficult to detect in the sky. Fortunately, the Webb Space Telescope, launched in December 2021 and commissioned this spring, it is the most powerful space observatory to date.
The position of M74, almost facing the earth, and its well-jointed spiral arms make it a great target for astronomers seeking to better understand galactic evolution. The galaxy also doesn’t have much gas at its center, so the star cluster at its core is well resolved.
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M74 tiene poco más de 13.000 millones de años. Es una galaxia espiral como nuestra propia Vía Láctea (que es un poco más antigua). Lo que aprendemos sobre la formación estelar dentro de M74 bien podría aplicarse a nuestro propio vecindario galáctico.
Las first Webb imagesof nebulae, galaxies and spectra from the atmosphere of an exoplanet, showed the scientific potential of the telescope. Now the telescope is focusing on a group of scientific objectives of specific interest to various scientific collaborations. There’s even a bot the Twitter what do you will keep you updated on what the Webb is watching at any moment.
Recently, it was the turn of the collaboration CEERS of obtaining images of targets with the Webb, which can observe more distant and fainter targets with better resolution than other space telescopes.
The image of M74 was taken as part of the collaboration work PHANGSwhich is investigating 19 nearby star-forming galaxies, to better understand how these hot balls of gas form in our nearby universe.
Looking at the galaxy in different wavelengths of light highlights different features of its structure. In the images taken by the In Hubble optical light, the galactic center is too bright to see much detail, but in Webb’s infrared view, you can see distinguish individual points of light.
The Hubble image also highlights some pink spots throughout the galaxy; according to a communiqué from ESA, those are clouds of hydrogen gas that indicate where stars have recently formed. Merging the Hubble and Webb data creates a composite image that highlights the galaxy’s nuclear center while keeping the features of its spiral arms, ie reddish-brown dust, intact.
Wavelengths also cause different feelings. The optical image makes the galaxy appear more ethereal, while the infrared image makes it look impressive. space swirl.
It will still be some time before the data can be filtered by science teams, who will then draw conclusions about how stars form in these nearby spiral galaxies; but for now, we can enjoy the aesthetics of the cosmos.