The latest image of the Space Observatory shows the Cartwheel Galaxy, a circular galaxy located 500 million light-years away and formed when a large spiral galaxy and a small galaxy violently collided.
When galaxies collide, their shape and structure can change. In the Cartwheel Galaxy, which looks a bit like a cartwheel, a colorful ring surrounds a brighter inner ring — both extending away from the collision core, as shown in Webb’s image.
These features are the reason for the classification of scientists Cartwheel as a ring galaxy, which is less common than spiral galaxies.
Astronomers have extracted new insights into individual stars and star formation within the chaotic galaxy, as well as the black hole at the galactic center, as a result of Webb’s capabilities.
The new image reveals more about how the galaxy has evolved over billions of years.
The image shows among the hot dust in the bright inner ring, giant clusters of young stars are forming.
Meanwhile, the outer ring is expanding for 440 million years, during which star formation and death (in the form of supernova explosions) occurs. When the ring expands, it collides with the gas, causing this to happen More star formation.
Two small companion galaxies are also shown in the image.
The Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories have studied the Cartwell wheel, but dust accumulations are obscured Galaxy puzzles. Webb is an infrared telescope, which sees light invisible to the human eye, which is why it was able to capture new details that other devices could not.
The new image is a composite of data collected by a near-infrared webcam and mid-infrared device and captures a moment in time as the cart wheel continues to slowly turn.
“Infuriatingly humble analyst. Bacon maven. Proud food specialist. Certified reader. Avid writer. Zombie advocate. Incurable problem solver.”
