Webb captures luminous, face-on spiral galaxy NGC 7469

Webb’s image of the month for December is dominated by NGC 7469, a luminous, face-on spiral galaxy roughly 90,000 light-years in diameter that lies roughly 220 million light-years from Earth within the constellation Pegasus.

This spiral galaxy has not too long ago been studied as a part of the Nice Observatories All-sky LIRGs Survey (GOALS), which goals to check the physics of star formation, black hole development, and suggestions in 4 close by, merging luminous infrared galaxies. Different galaxies studied as a part of the survey embrace earlier ESA Webb Photos of the Month II ZW 096 and IC 1623.

NGC 7469 is dwelling to an active galactic nucleus (AGN), which is a particularly vivid central area that’s dominated by the sunshine emitted by dust and gasoline because it falls into the galaxy’s central black hole. This galaxy gives astronomers with the distinctive alternative to check the connection between AGNs and starburst exercise as a result of this explicit object hosts an AGN that’s surrounded by a starburst ring at a distance of a mere 1500 light-years.

Whereas NGC 7469 is among the finest studied AGNs within the sky, the compact nature of this method and the presence of a substantial amount of dust have made it troublesome for scientists to realize each the decision and sensitivity wanted to check this relationship within the infrared. Now, with Webb, astronomers can discover the galaxy’s starburst ring, the central AGN, and the gasoline and dust in between.

Utilizing Webb’s MIRI, NIRCam and NIRspec devices to acquire photos and spectra of NGC 7469 in unprecedented element, the GOALS workforce has uncovered plenty of particulars concerning the object. This consists of very younger star-forming clusters by no means seen earlier than, in addition to pockets of very heat, turbulent molecular gasoline, and direct proof for the destruction of small dust grains inside just a few hundred light-years of the nucleus—proving that the AGN is impacting the encircling interstellar medium.

Moreover, extremely ionized, diffuse atomic gasoline appears to be exiting the nucleus at roughly 6.4 million kilometers per hour—a part of a galactic outflow that had beforehand been recognized from the bottom, however is now revealed in beautiful element with Webb. With evaluation of the wealthy Webb datasets nonetheless underway, extra secrets and techniques of this native AGN and starburst laboratory are certain to be revealed.

A outstanding characteristic of this picture is the hanging six-pointed star that completely aligns with the center of NGC 7469. In contrast to the galaxy, this isn’t an actual celestial object, however an imaging artifact often known as a diffraction spike, brought on by the intense, unresolved AGN. Diffraction spikes are patterns produced as mild bends across the sharp edges of a telescope.

Webb has three struts, with two angled at 150 levels from its vertical strut, and its primary mirror consists of hexagonal segments that every comprise edges for mild to diffract towards. Webb’s struts are designed in order that their diffraction spikes partially overlap with these created by the mirrors. Each of those result in Webb’s advanced star sample.