Some 220 million light-years away, nestled within the constellation Pegasus, spiral galaxy NGC 7469 whirls round an energetic galactic nucleus (AGN). It is one of many extra well-studied galaxies in our universe, however the James Webb Space Telescope has simply produced probably the most detailed pictures of the wreath-shaped galaxy ever seen.
As a result of NGC 7469 faces us head-on, astronomers can observe its complete 90,000-light-year span. Of explicit curiosity is its AGN, the brilliant area at its middle the place dust and fuel gentle up as they’re consumed by the galaxy’s supermassive black hole. The construction is not unusual, however what’s uncommon is that NGC 7469 has a starburst ring simply 1,500 light-years from the AGN — an exceptionally shut distance.
Since there’s a lot materials packed into a comparatively small space, it has been tough for scientists to look into the AGN and its surrounding starburst. However that has now modified with Webb’s ultra-sensitive infrared imaging devices.
Associated: James Webb Space Telescope’s best images of all time (gallery)
This picture has captured new particulars inside NGC 7469’s AGN, together with “very younger star-forming clusters by no means seen earlier than, in addition to pockets of very heat, turbulent molecular fuel, and direct proof for the destruction of small dust grains inside just a few hundred light-years of the nucleus,” in accordance with a statement (opens in new tab) from the European House Company (ESA), a associate on the observatory.
On this picture, Webb has additionally captured ionized atomic fuel emissions from the nucleus which are touring at some 4 million mph (6.4 million kph). Whereas scientists already knew concerning the galactic outflow, this picture marks the primary time they had been in a position to see it in such crisp element.
And, by the best way, that six-pointed starburst that seems to emanate from the middle of the galaxy? That does not technically exist. It is what scientists name an imaging artifact, and extra particularly, a diffraction spike — a sample that is created on the picture when gentle bends across the edges of telescopes. Webb pictures are characterised by their six-pointed diffraction spikes, a signature of the observatory’s hexagonal mirror.
Scientists hope to make use of pictures like these to review the connection between AGNs and starburst exercise.
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