Stunning New JWST Images of Barred Spiral Galaxies Stir Emotions

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured an image of intricate dust patterns and vibrant clusters of stars. This spectacular snapshot showcases the barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 5068, with its radiant bar-shaped core situated towards the upper left of the picture – a composite developed using two instruments from Webb.

Bill Nelson, the Chief of NASA, disclosed the photo on Friday while interacting with students at Poland’s Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw.

The constellation Virgo hosts NGC 5068, a galaxy positioned approximately 20 million light-years distant from our planet.

This particular image showcases the galaxy’s luminous central area where star birth is actively occurring. This visual capture forms part of an ongoing initiative to amass a collection of astronomical data focused on the star-making processes in galaxies in close proximity to our own.

The significance of these observations lies in their dual purpose.

Firstly, understanding star creation is crucial for many astronomical fields, including the study of interstellar plasma physics and the evolutionary path of entire galaxies. Observations of star formation in neighboring galaxies could potentially trigger significant scientific breakthroughs, using some of the earliest data available from Webb.

Secondly, the data gathered by Webb supplements previous research carried out with other telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope and terrestrial observatories.

Webb captured images from 19 star-forming galaxies in close proximity, allowing astronomers to cross-reference them with Hubble images of 10,000 star clusters, spectroscopic mapping of 20,000 star-forming emission nebulae from the Very Large Telescope (VLT), and observations of 12,000 dark and dense molecular clouds identified by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

This comprehensive collection spans the entire electromagnetic spectrum, offering an unparalleled chance for astronomers to explore the intricate mechanisms of star formation.

Webb, with its exceptional ability to penetrate the gaseous and dusty surroundings of nascent stars, is perfectly equipped to delve into the intricacies of star formation. Planets and star systems originate within immense dust and gas clouds, which are impenetrable to visible-light observatories such as Hubble or VLT.

However, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) can pierce these enormous dust clouds in NGC 5068 and record star formation in real time. This image fuses the strengths of these two instruments, presenting a unique perspective on the structure of NGC 5068.

Source: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team

Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team