The first pictures from the Cosmic The telescope James Webb was introduced a month ago, but since then NASA publishes new extraordinary photographs of the Universe. Scientists using this observatory do not slow down and constantly conduct observations, which we can now see in other amazing photos.
An unusual galaxy pictured from the James Webb telescope
NASA has released the latest Webb image of the Dipper’s wheel galaxy. It is an unusual ring galaxy located approximately 500 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Sculptor. Another name for this galaxy is ESO 350-G40, but its structure resembled a wagon wheel for some, so this name is more commonly used.
The Dipper’s Wheel Galaxy was likely a typical spiral galaxy at one time. It owes its current shape to a collision with a smaller galaxy, which disrupted its spiral structure and ejected large amounts of it. gas far beyond the center, triggering violent star formation processes.
These young, blue, massive stars that formed after impact now form the outer ring of the Dipper’s Wheel. The galaxy’s core, in turn, is surrounded by a hot inner ring of tightly clustered old stars that shine with yellow and orange light. The appearance of the galaxy is constantly changing (although, of course, at an unnoticeable pace for us), and millions of years from now, the Dipper Wheel may no longer resemble the wheel it takes its name from.
NASA also tried to compare new the image taken by the Webb telescope with the one taken years ago by the Hubble telescope:
The difference is gigantic. Definitely more details can be seen not only in the unusual structure of the Dipper’s Wheel, but also in the structures of the two smaller galaxies that are also in the frame. It is also worth noting that there are many distant galaxies in the Webb image that are not visible in the Hubble image at all.
As NASA researchers explain, this is due not only to the much larger mirror used in the new telescope. It makes a huge difference factthat Hubble should be observing in visible light, and the Webb photo was taken in infrared light, which penetrates more easily through cosmic dust and gas. Meanwhile, the Wagon Wheel is largely obscured by it.
The Webb image was created by two instruments – NIRCam (near infrared) and MIRI (mid-infrared) and is shown in false colors. The near-infrared light is shown here in blue, orange, and yellow, and from the MIRI camera in red.