James Webb Space Telescope strikes again, delivers new shining galaxy image
The James Webb Space Telescope continues to probe some of the deepest regions of our universe.
![A dusty-looking section of space with orange and red streaks concentrated around a glowing greenish center.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DGt2DuvQZvQyznVGDHZ5wg-320-80.jpg)
Scientists with the European Space Agency (ESA) have released images of Messier 106, a nearby spiral galaxy located in the Canes Venatici constellation. Also known as NGC 4258, these sparkling images of Messier 106 were captured using the trailblazing James Webb Space Telescope.
The space-based observatory carries a sophisticated near-infrared camera on board, which allows it to see farther and deeper than any other telescope can — and, the farther into space we look, the older the objects we see. Light emitted by objects formed in the early universe experiences what scientists call a "redshift" while moving away from our vicinity of the cosmos, meaning those light wavelengths become elongated, moving from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum toward the invisible, infrared part.
From the outside, galaxies typically appear dense and impenetrable because stellar dust absorbs virtually all the visible light we can see. But infrared light is less hindered by dust and small particles, and because the James Webb Space Telescope can detect such light, it can penetrate previously obscured regions. In addition to numerous groundbreaking observations made in the last several years, the JWST's breathtaking observations of Messier 106 are a testament to its enhanced capabilities.
At the newly imaged galaxy’s center, the telescope clearly captures a supermassive black hole — typically found at the center of large galaxies. What’s exciting about this one, though, is the fact that it is still quite active.
Related: James Webb Space Telescope finds a shock near supermassive black hole (image)
"Unlike the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, which pulls in wisps of gas only occasionally, Messier 106's black hole is actively gobbling up material," said ESA scientists in a press release. "As the gas spirals towards the black hole, it heats up and emits powerful radiation."
The galaxy's bright nucleus is visible as a bright region in the image, the light from which is emitted as dust and gas falls into the black hole. The galaxy's "arms" are observed as sweeping streaks of glowing gas and dust in the image.
Get the Space.com Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
The blue regions are stellar dust scattered throughout the galaxy, while orange indicates warmer dust and the stronger red hues represent colder dust. The teal, green and yellow tones near the center of the image depict varying gas distributions.
Messier 106 possesses two more "invisible" arms that are visible only in the radio and X-ray wavelengths — these are composed of hot gas instead of stars and are believed to be a result of the black hole’s activity. "They are likely caused by outflowing material produced by the violent churning of gas around the black hole, creating a phenomenon analogous to a wave crashing up out of the ocean when it hits a rock near the shore."
Observations such as these will help astronomers better understand important galactic processes such as star formation and black hole physics, to ultimately understand the nature and history of the universe.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
A chemist turned science writer, Victoria Corless completed her Ph.D. in organic synthesis at the University of Toronto and, ever the cliché, realized lab work was not something she wanted to do for the rest of her days. After dabbling in science writing and a brief stint as a medical writer, Victoria joined Wiley’s Advanced Science News where she works as an editor and writer. On the side, she freelances for various outlets, including Research2Reality and Chemistry World.
-
m4n8tpr8b I understand the need to use as simple language as possible for the general public, but I think the intro just serves to confuse said general public.Reply
You aim to explain why infrared is relevant. The second and third paragraphs give two different explanations, both of which are more or less technically correct, but there is no explanation of which one is relevant and why, and a confused member of the general public might conflate the two.
The first explanation, that the visible light reaching us from galaxies in the early Universe is redshifted to infrared, is the primary reason why the JWST sensors aim at that wavelength band. However, that's irrelevant in the case of M106, which is nearby and has a relatively miniscule redshift (in fact it's so small you'd barely notice the colour change with the naked eye).
The reason IR is relevant here is something completely unrelated, which is the second explanation: IR is less absorbed by dust clouds, thus in IR, we can see at the stars (and black hole accretion discs) in the dense core of nearby galaxies. This is a side benefit of using an instrument primarily designed & built to detect much much much more distant galaxies in the early universe.
Finally, a smaller correction: cosmological redshift is not because objects are moving away but because the space between us has expanded, and the light travelling from the distant galaxy to us "stretched out" with it. (This might be easier to understand for members of the general public who have watched sci-fi shows like Start Trek: a "warp drive" is supposed to work by contracting the space ahead of a spaceship and expanding the space behind it.) -
Freqmode I always wonder whats going on there when I see pictures like this. Other beings living their lives or is it completely void of intelligent life. The latter is always harder to imagine with how many star systems there are. There's just no way earth is that unique with trillions of other potential life hosting planets. If earth is the one and only we were the wrong species to give it toReply