NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured an image of the Cartwheel Galaxy and provided new information on star formation and the galaxy's main black hole. The spiral galaxy is located in the Sculptor constellation, about 500 million light-years away.
Cartwheel Galaxy Rare Photo Captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope
The Cartwheel Galaxy is considered a rare sight, with an appearance similar to that of a wagon wheel. It looked that way due to the large and small galaxy's high-speed collision, which sets off a chain reaction of smaller events between the involved galaxies.
In the photo published by NASA on its Twitter account, Webb's powerful infrared gaze captured the Cartwheel and two smaller companion galaxies in a finely detailed image against a background of numerous other galaxies. The image depicts how the Cartwheel Galaxy has evolved over billions of years.
Rightfully named the Cartwheel Galaxy, this celestial object’s shape is a result of a violent galactic collision that produced shock waves that swept up gas and dust, like ripples produced when a stone is dropped into a lake. More on this @NASAHubble pic: https://t.co/PA7ihxVGkH pic.twitter.com/qJMbdjDsqq
— NASA (@NASA) January 23, 2018
Webb's primary imager, the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), looks in the near-infrared range from 0.6 to 5 microns, detecting critical wavelengths of light that can reveal even more stars than visible light. This is because young stars, many of which are forming in the outer ring, are less obscured by dust when observed in infrared light.
The image's blue, orange, and yellow colors are NIRCam's data. Individual blue dots in the galaxy represent individual stars or pockets of star formation.
It also shows a distinction between the smooth distribution or shape of older star populations and dense dust in the core and the clumpy shapes associated with younger star populations outside of it.
In another Twitter post, NASA showed Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) image. The data is colored red, which reveals regions within the Cartwheel Galaxy rich in hydrocarbons and other chemical compounds. The presence of silicate dust is also depicted in the image.
Here’s that galaxy again, as seen just through Webb’s MIRI instrument. While Webb’s NIRCam reveals previously unseen young stars, MIRI reveals regions rich in hydrocarbons and chemical compounds, such as silicate dust — similar to dust on Earth! pic.twitter.com/IGk47myGjz
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) August 2, 2022
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Cartwheel Galaxy Formation and Evolution
The collision had the most significant influence on its shape and structure. It comprises two rings - a bright inner ring and a colorful outer ring.
Like ripples in a pond after a stone is thrown into it, these two rings spread outward from the collision's center. Because of these distinguishing features, astronomers refer to it as a ring galaxy, a less common structure than spiral galaxies like the Milky Way.
The bright core is densely packed with hot dust, with the brightest areas containing massive young star clusters. The outer ring, on the other hand, has been expanding for approximately 440 million years and is dominated by star formation and supernova explosions. As the ring grows, it collides with the surrounding gas and sparks the formation of stars.
The Cartwheel has previously been studied by other telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope. However, due to the dust that obscures the view, the dramatic galaxy has been shrouded in mystery. Webb's ability to detect infrared light has led to new discoveries about the nature of the Cartwheel.
NASA said in its statement that Webb's observations emphasize that the Cartwheel is in its early stages and is expected to evolve.
"While Webb provides a snapshot of the Cartwheel's current state, it also sheds light on what happened to this galaxy in the past and how it will evolve in the future," NASA said.
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