![]() The combined mass of the galaxies and dark matter act as a cosmic telescope, creating magnified, contorted, and sometimes mirrored images of individual galaxies. ![]() Bound together by gravity in a galaxy cluster, they are bending the light from galaxies that appear in the vast distances behind them. High-resolution imaging from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope combined with a natural effect known as gravitational lensing made this finely detailed image possible.įirst, focus on the galaxies responsible for the lensing: the bright white elliptical galaxy at the center of the image and smaller white galaxies throughout the image. Thousands of galaxies flood this near-infrared image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. These brilliant red hues, located not only throughout the Cartwheel, but also the companion spiral galaxy at the top left, are caused by glowing, hydrocarbon-rich dust. This leads to the “spokes” that inspired the name of the Cartwheel Galaxy, which are the bright red streaks seen between the inner and outer rings. However, despite the impact, much of the character of the large, spiral galaxy that existed before the collision remains, including its rotating arms. Both rings expand outward from the center of the collision like shockwaves. The Cartwheel is composed of two rings, a bright inner ring and a colorful outer ring. This galaxy formed as the result of a high-speed collision that occurred about 400 million years ago. This image of the Cartwheel and its companion galaxies is a composite from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), which reveals details that are difficult to see in the individual images alone. Sight in the mid-infrared range is possible only because MIRI can be cooled to near absolute zero, preventing the infrared radiation of the instrumentation itself from interfering with its readings. This galaxy is over 29 million light-years away, and it’s about 66,000 light-years across, making it a bit larger than the Milky Way. Usually dust obscures these gas lanes, but a mid-infrared probe penetrates right through these particles, which are usually composed of either silicates or metals, and left by cooling or dead stars. These delicate threads are gases swirled throughout the galaxy. Its gaze in the 5- to 28-nanometer wavelength range seems to show gray cobwebs in the shape of a spiral, according to the Webb Flickr page. It’s not time for Halloween yet, but get in the mood with this image of spiral galaxy IC 5332, revealed in its stark, sharp glory through MIRI, Webb’s mid-infrared instrument. If you want to see the “bones” of a galaxy, look no further. For a complete list of images and their descriptions, see the official Webb Gallery, where you’ll also find analysis graphs that explain the properties of distant objects in space, such as Exoplanet 96B’s atmospheric composition. The images here include all of the publicly-released Webb photos and descriptions, plus some edits that amateurs have created from original Webb data. In fact, CEERS-93316 is an astounding 35 billion light-years away. One of the galaxies Webb saw emerged from a fledgling universe, only 235 million years after the Big Bang, making it the oldest galaxy we’ve ever laid eyes on. ![]() Let’s nerd out over it together-join Pop Mech Pro. Webb fills in the gaps with infrared instruments, whose data can be combined with previous visible and ultraviolet spectrum imaging, providing the first complete images of planets and galaxies. On July 12, the James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared and mid-infrared instruments issued their first clear glimpses of thousands of galaxies in a deep-field view that took advantage of gravitational lensing, when the powerful gravitational field of a huge group of galaxies bends the light rays from more distant galaxies, pulling them into our view. What’s the oldest galaxy humanity has ever seen? Our vision now extends to astonishingly cosmic distances.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |