The James Webb Space Telescope peered through dust and gas to reveal star formation in a rare wheel-shaped galaxy that formed in a galactic collision a long time ago.
The galaxy, called cart wheel due to its striking resemblance to an ancient carriage wheel, it was previously studied by the Hubble Space Telescopebut Webb’s infrared look has revealed a wealth of previously unseen details galaxythe structure of
Infrared light, which is essentially heat, penetrates through dust clouds, allowing this James Webb Space Telescope to look at regions of space that are obscured by optical telescopes, such as Hubble. In the new images, Webb instruments NIRCam i LOOKrevealed individual stars within the star-forming regions of the Cartwheel Galaxy’s outer ring, as well as very young star clusters around the galaxy’s central supermassive. black holewhich is also surrounded by dust.
Gallery: First photos from the James Webb Space Telescope
The Cartwheel, located at about 500 million light years far from Earth in the constellation Sculptor in the southern sky, it is a rather rare type of galaxy that astronomers call a ring galaxy. Scientists believe that a long time ago, the cartwheel was common spiral galaxysimilar to ours Milky Way. Then, about 700 to 800 million light years ago, it collided with a smaller galaxy.
The crash altered its shape and structure to what astronomers can see today, forming two ring-like structures, one surrounding the galactic center and one framing the entire galaxy. The two rings expand outward from the galaxy’s center like “ripples in a pond,” the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which operates Webb and is based in Maryland, said in one statement (opens in a new tab).
As the outer ring expands, it pushes out the dust and gas surrounding the galaxy and triggers star formation, according to STScI. The areas where new stars are born appear as small blue dots in the image and are scattered throughout the galaxy, but especially concentrated in the outer ring.
The MIRI camera on the James Webb Space Telescope reveals areas rich in hydrocarbons and silicate dust. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI)
Webb’s observations also reveal areas rich in hydrocarbons and silicate dust, which form the radii that connect the inner and outer rings. Previous Hubble images could also make out the radii, but Webb’s new observations make those features much clearer, STScI said.
The Cartwheel Galaxy is still transforming as a result of the past crash, and the new observations will help provide insights into its past and future evolution.
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