The galaxy, called the Wheel wheel for its striking resemblance to an old-fashioned carriage wheel, it had previously been studied by Hubble Space Telescopebut Webb’s infrared gaze revealed a wealth of previously unseen details in the galaxyits structure. Infrared light, which is essentially heat, penetrates through dust clouds, allowing it James Webb Space Telescope to peer into regions of space covered by optical telescopes such as Hubble. In the new images, the Webb NIRCam instruments and MIRIrevealed person stars within star-forming regions in the outer ring of the Cartwheel Galaxy, as well as in clusters of very young stars around the central hypermagnification of the galaxy black holewhich is also wrapped in dust. Gallery: The first pictures of the James Webb Space Telescope Cartwheel, located around 500 million light years away from Earth in the constellation Sculptor in the southern sky, is a rather rare type of galaxy that astronomers call a ring galaxy. Scientists believe that a long time ago, Cartwheel was common spiral galaxysimilar to ours Galaxy. Then, about 700 to 800 million light years ago, it collided with a smaller galaxy. The crash changed its shape and structure to what astronomers can see today, forming two ring-like structures, one surrounding the galactic center and another framing the entire galaxy. The two rings extend outward from the galactic center like “ripples in a pond,” the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which operates Webb and is based in Maryland, said in a statement (opens in a new tab). As the outer ring expands, it pushes out the dust and gas surrounding the galaxy and triggers star formation, according to STScI. The regions where new stars are born appear as small blue dots in the image and are scattered throughout the galaxy, but particularly concentrated in the outer ring.
The James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI camera reveals regions rich in hydrocarbons and silica dust. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI) Webb’s observations also reveal regions rich in hydrocarbons and silica dust, which form the rays connecting the inner and outer rings. Previous Hubble images could also make out the rays, but the new Webb observations make these features much clearer, STScI said. The Cartwheel Galaxy is still being transformed as a result of its past collision, and the new observations will help provide insights into its past and future evolution. Follow Tereza Pultarova on Twitter @Tereza Pultarova. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and up Facebook.
