Webb Telescope Shows Us the Heart of a 'Phantom Galaxy' in a Way Hubble Never Could
Astrophotography at its finest
Anthony Wood
By Anthony Wood
Updated: Sep 2, 2022 11:54 am
Posted: Sep 2, 2022 11:48 am
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a stunning view into the heart of the vast Phantom Galaxy - officially known as M74 - which lies 32 million light-years distant from Earth in the constellation Pisces.
This latest cosmic piece of art from the JWST is a perfect example of how data captured by multiple orbital telescopes that are designed to observe different wavelengths of light can be combined to create a more complete, and spectacular view of an astronomical object.
The new JWST imagery was captured using the telescope’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI), which is designed to observe light that exists in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Scientists Combine Hubble and Webb Telescope Data to Create a Stunning View of the Phantom Galaxy
An infrared view of the Phantom Galaxy courtesy of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team. Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt
A new view of the Phantom Galaxy created using optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope and Infrared observations from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team; ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar. Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt
A side by side comparison showing both the infrared observations from the JWST, the optical image captured by Hubble, and the composite shot created from data contributed by both legendary telescopes.
Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team. Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt
Ordinarily, our human eyes would be incapable of perceiving this kind of light. However, astronomers are able to take the raw infrared data collected by telescopes and instruments such as MIRI and assign them colors that we can comprehend.
This is useful, as galaxies such as M74 are saturated with enormous clouds of interstellar dust and gas that prevent telescopes that observe the heavens in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum from seeing its underlying structure.
Thankfully, infrared telescopes such as the JWST are able to look past this obscuring layer to observe that which lies beneath, in order to provide a more complete view of the universe.
In the case of the Phantom Galaxy, Webb’s powerful infrared eyes revealed an ethereal view of the filaments of dust and gas that lie within M74’s well defined spiral arms, and a clear central region that plays host to a dense cluster of stellar bodies.
Previous observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope meanwhile showcased the galaxy in the ultraviolet and visible parts of the light spectrum. The Hubble data highlighted a central population of old red stars, and the locations of younger blueish stellar bodies that pepper the spiral arms.
From NASA: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is overflowing with detail.
Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe is approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.
Star Forming Region: NGC 3324 in Carina Nebula - Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
From NASA: This landscape of 'mountains' and 'valleys' speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA's new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.
Called the Cosmic Cliffs, Webb's seemingly three-dimensional picture looks like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening. In reality, it is the edge of the giant, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, and the tallest 'peaks' in this image are about 7 light-years high. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image.
Interacting Galaxies: Stephan's Quintet - Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
From NASA: Stephan's Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies, is best known for being prominently featured in the holiday classic film, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Today, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals Stephan’s Quintet in a new light. This enormous mosaic is Webb’s largest image to date, covering about one-fifth of the Moon’s diameter. It contains over 150 million pixels and is constructed from almost 1,000 separate image files. The information from Webb provides new insights into how galactic interactions may have driven galaxy evolution in the early universe.
With its powerful, infrared vision and extremely high spatial resolution, Webb shows never-before-seen details in this galaxy group. Sparkling clusters of millions of young stars and starburst regions of fresh star birth grace the image. Sweeping tails of gas, dust and stars are being pulled from several of the galaxies due to gravitational interactions. Most dramatically, Webb captures huge shock waves as one of the galaxies, NGC 7318B, smashes through the cluster.
Stellar Death: Planetary Nebula NGC 3132 - Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
From NASA: Some stars save the best for last.
The dimmer star at the center of this scene has been sending out rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions, and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed for the first time that this star is cloaked in dust.
Two cameras aboard Webb captured the latest image of this planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 3132, and known informally as the Southern Ring Nebula. It is approximately 2,500 light-years away.
p>Webb will allow astronomers to dig into many more specifics about planetary nebulae like this one – clouds of gas and dust expelled by dying stars. Understanding which molecules are present, and where they lie throughout the shells of gas and dust will help researchers refine their knowledge of these objects.
Exoplanet: WASP-96B - Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
From NASA: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the distinct signature of water, along with evidence for clouds and haze, in the atmosphere surrounding a hot, puffy gas giant planet orbiting a distant Sun-like star.
The observation, which reveals the presence of specific gas molecules based on tiny decreases in the brightness of precise colors of light, is the most detailed of its kind to date, demonstrating Webb’s unprecedented ability to analyze atmospheres hundreds of light-years away.
While the Hubble Space Telescope has analyzed numerous exoplanet atmospheres over the past two decades, capturing the first clear detection of water in 2013, Webb’s immediate and more detailed observation marks a giant leap forward in the quest to characterize potentially habitable planets beyond Earth.
Red gasseus regions dotted throughout the structure represented regions of intense star formation, where the light pouring out from powerful young stars had energised the surrounding clouds, causing them to glow.
Scientists were able to combine the Webb and Hubble data to create a truly spectacular view of the Phantom galaxy. Here, JWST data has been colored red to denote the mass of dust weaved throughout the galactic structure, with regions of orange representing hotter regions of matter. Young stellar bodies meanwhile are represented in blue, while their older cousins are shown in a cyan/green hues.
With the new Webb data, astronomers will attempt to shed light on the processes that governed star formation in the early universe, and to figure out the ages and masses of ancient star clusters.
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