It seems like every few weeks, NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) drop an impressive image from the James Webb Space Telescope that is both stunning to look at and advances our knowledge of the universe. The latest is the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, called the “barred” galaxy because of the bright central bar you can see in the upper left of the image above. This is a composite image made up of infrared shots taken from the telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera).
What the sensors captured was a galaxy in the constellation Virgo about 20 million light-years from Earth, and because JWST can see the dust and gas surrounding stars as they are born, the instrument is particularly suited to create images that reflect. the process of star formation.
Looking at the two individual images that make up the composite reveals the different layers of the galaxy. as Gizmodo notes, the image produced by the MIRI sensor provides a view of the structure of the galaxy and the glowing bubbles of gas that represent newly formed stars.
![A delicate trail of dust and bright star clusters in this image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. In this image, from Webb's MIRI instrument, the spiral galaxy's dusty structure and glowing gas bubbles containing newly formed star clusters are particularly prominent. These bright edges of gas belong to the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, located about 17 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. This image of NGC 5068 is part of a campaign to create an astronomical treasure trove, a repository of observations of star formation in nearby galaxies. Previous gems from this collection can be found here and here. These observations are especially valuable to astronomers for two reasons. The first is because star formation underpins many fields of astronomy, from the physics of the tiny plasma that lies between stars to the evolution of entire galaxies. By observing the formation of stars in nearby galaxies, astronomers hope to initiate major scientific advances with some of the first available data from Webb. The second reason is that Webb's observations build on other studies using telescopes including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and some of the world's most capable ground-based observatories. Webb collected images of 19 nearby star-forming galaxies that astronomers could then combine with Hubble's catalogs of 10,000 star clusters, spectroscopic mapping of 20Â 000 star-forming emission nebulae from the Very Large Telescope ( VLT), and observations of 12Â 000 dark. , a dense molecular cloud identified by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). These observations span the electromagnetic spectrum and give astronomers an unprecedented opportunity to piece together the minutiae of star formation. Three asteroid trails enter this image, visible as small blue-green-red dots. Asteroids are visible in astronomical images like this because they are closer to the telescope than distant targets. As Webb took multiple images of the astronomical object, the asteroid moved, so it appeared in a slightly different spot in each frame. They're a little more noticeable in images like this one from MIRI, because many stars aren't as bright in mid-infrared wavelengths as they are in near-infrared or visible light, so asteroids are easier to spot. seen next to the stars. One path is just below the galaxy bar, and two more in the lower-left corner - can you find them? [Image description: A close-in image of a spiral galaxy, showing its core and part of a spiral arm. A few bright stars are visible throughout it, concentrated in the barred core. Clumps and filaments of dust thread through it, forming an almost skeletal structure that follows the twist of the galaxy and its spiral arm. Large, glowing bubbles of red gas are hidden in the dust.] Links NGC 5068 (MIRI+NIRCam image) NGC 5068 (NIRCam image) Slider Tool (MIRI and NIRCam images) Video: Pan sa NGC 5068 Video: Webb's views of NGC 5068 (MIRI and NIRCam images) Video: Zoom into NGC 5068](https://mysterio.yahoo.com/api/res/1.2/mii15sXAqaYKQSkUrXgVSg--/ZHByPTI7dz04NzU7YXBwaWQ9ZW5nYWRnZXQ-/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2023-06/8fc2da80-0238-11ee-9ff7-df71e4ecbe21.cf.webp)
ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and
The second image, taken from NIRCam, focuses on a large portion of foreground stars. The composite, on the other hand, shows the vast number of stars in the region as well as highlights of stars that have just been “born.”
![A delicate trail of dust and bright star clusters in this image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. This view from Webb's NIRCam instrument studies the galaxy's massive star population, densest along its bright central bar, with fiery red gas clouds illuminated by young stars inside. These twinkling stars belong to the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, located about 17 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. This image of NGC 5068 is part of a campaign to create an astronomical treasure trove, a repository of observations of star formation in nearby galaxies. Previous gems from this collection can be found here and here. These observations are especially valuable to astronomers for two reasons. The first is because star formation underpins many fields of astronomy, from the physics of the tiny plasma that lies between stars to the evolution of entire galaxies. By observing the formation of stars in nearby galaxies, astronomers hope to initiate major scientific advances with some of the first available data from Webb. The second reason is that Webb's observations build on other studies using telescopes including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and some of the world's most capable ground-based observatories. Webb collected images of 19 nearby star-forming galaxies that astronomers could then combine with Hubble's catalogs of 10,000 star clusters, spectroscopic mapping of 20Â 000 star-forming emission nebulae from the Very Large Telescope ( VLT), and observations of 12Â 000 dark. , a dense molecular cloud identified by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). These observations span the electromagnetic spectrum and give astronomers an unprecedented opportunity to piece together the minutiae of star formation. This near-infrared image of the galaxy is filled with the massive cluster of ancient stars that make up the core of NGC 5068. NIRCam's sharp vision allows astronomers to peer into the galaxy's gas and dust to examine fix its stars. Dense and bright clouds of dust are in the path of the spiral arms: these are H II regions, collections of hydrogen gas where new stars are formed. Young, energetic stars ionize the hydrogen around them which, when combined with hot dust emission, creates this red glow. H II regions have become an interesting target for astronomers, and the Webb instruments are the perfect tool to examine them, resulting in this image. [Image Description: A close-in image of a spiral galaxy, showing its core and part of a spiral arm. At this distance thousands upon thousands of tiny stars that make up the galaxy can be seen. The stars are most dense in a whitish bar that forms the core, and less dense out from that towards the arm. Bright red gas clouds follow the twist of the galaxy and the spiral arm.] Links NGC 5068 (NIRCam+MIRI Image) NGC 5068 (MIRI Image) Slider Tool (MIRI and NIRCam images) Video: Pan sa NGC 5068 Video: Webb's views of NGC 5068 (MIRI and NIRCam images) Video: Zoom into NGC 5068](https://mysterio.yahoo.com/api/res/1.2/f1i9xv8PYC2pS_i69yBbEA--/ZHByPTI7dz04NzU7YXBwaWQ9ZW5nYWRnZXQ-/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2023-06/fda076c0-0238-11ee-bdff-1b0df14d5358.cf.webp)
ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and
There is no one specific quest for success in this picture; Instead, NASA says it’s part of a broader effort to collect as many images of star formation from nearby galaxies as possible. (No, 20 million light-years doesn’t exactly feel close to me, but that’s how things are in space.) NASA has pointed to a few other images as other “gems” from the collection of stars are born, including this impressive “Phantom Galaxy” shown last summer. What is the agency expected to know? Simply put, star formation “underpins many fields of astronomy, from the physics of the tiny plasma that lies between stars to the evolution of entire galaxies.” NASA continues to say that it hopes that the data collected on galaxies like NGC 5068 will help “start” major scientific advances, although what may be a mystery.
