Stellar gymnastics in the Cartwheel Galaxy captured by Webb Space Telescope

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the Cartwheel Galaxy, a rare ring galaxy once hidden under the dust. The galaxy was formed by a collision between a large spiral galaxy and another smaller galaxy, and its structure has undergone many changes over time.

The high-precision instruments on Webb were able to resolve individual stars and star-forming regions within the Cartwheel. Moreover, they revealed the behavior of the black hole within the galactic center. We now have a better understanding of a galaxy amid a slow transformation as a result of these new details.

New details about star formation and the galaxy's central black hole are revealed by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope as it peers into the chaos of the Cartwheel Galaxy. Against the backdrop of many other galaxies, Webb's powerful infrared vision captured this detailed image of the Cartwheel and two smaller companion galaxies. In this new view, we can see how the Cartwheel Galaxy has changed over billions of years.

Cartwheel Galaxy is a rare sight located in the Sculptor constellation about 500 million light-years from Earth. Similar to the wheel of a wagon, it is the result of a high-speed collision between a large spiral galaxy and a smaller galaxy, which is not visible in this image. Galactic collisions cause a cascade of smaller events between galaxies, and the Cartwheel is no exception.

The galaxy's shape and structure were most significantly affected by the collision. Cartwheel Galaxy has two rings: a bright inner ring and a colorful outer ring. Unlike ripples in a pond, after a stone is tossed into it, these two rings expand outward from the center of the collision. The peculiar features of this galaxy make it a 'ring galaxy,' a structure that is less common than spiral galaxies like the Milky Way.

Massive young star clusters are located in the brightest areas of the bright core, which contains a tremendous amount of hot dust. Star formation and supernovas dominate the outer ring, which has expanded for about 440 million years. The expanding ring plows into surrounding gas and triggers star formation.

It has previously been observed by Hubble Space Telescope as well as other telescopes. The dramatic galaxy is shrouded in mystery - perhaps literally, given how much dust obscures its view. The Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), Webb's primary imager, detects infrared light between 0.6 and 5 microns, identifying crucial wavelengths that can reveal more stars than visible light alone.

 When observed in infrared light, young stars, many of which are forming in the outer ring, are less obscured by dust. The NIRCam data are colored blue, orange, and yellow in this image.

There are many blue dots in the galaxy, which are either individual stars or pockets of star formation. A NIRCam image also reveals a difference between the smooth distribution and shape of older star populations and dense dust in the core and the clumpy shapes associated with younger star populations outside the core.

MIRI, however, provides finer details about the galaxy's dust. In this composite image, MIRI data are highlighted in red. Cartwheel Galaxy regions are rich in hydrocarbons and other chemical compounds, as well as silicate dust, like most of Earth's dust.

The galaxy skeleton is formed by these spiraling regions. In this Webb image, these spokes are much more prominent than in previous Hubble observations released in 2018.

Webb's observations indicate that the Cartwheel is very transitory at the moment. This galaxy, which was presumably a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way before its collision, will continue to change.

In addition to providing a snapshot of the Cartwheel's present state, Webb gives us a glimpse of what happened to the galaxy in the past as well as how it will evolve in the future.

source:scitechdaily