Webb captured the beautiful curved arms of the spiral galaxy M51.

The grand-design spiral galaxy M51 is enveloped by graceful and winding arms that are captured in this image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. Unlike other galaxies which have ragged or disrupted spiral arms, M51 has prominent and well-developed arms that are clearly visible. This portrait was taken by the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) of the telescope and shows a stunning filamentary medium, where empty cavities and bright filaments alternate to form a wave-like pattern emanating from the spiral arms. The yellow regions indicate newly formed star clusters in the galaxy, which are illuminated by the reprocessed stellar light by dust grains and molecules in the medium of the galaxy.

M51, or NGC 5194, is a well-studied galaxy pair that lies about 27 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. The interaction between these two galaxies has caused them to be one of the better-studied pairs in the night sky. It is thought that the gravitational influence of the smaller companion NGC 5195 is partially responsible for the stately nature of M51's spiral arms. In order to further understand stellar feedback and star formation outside of our own galaxy, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured a series of observations titled FEAST (Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Star clusTers). These observations were designed to shed light on the interplay between stellar feedback and star formation in other environments, which is a crucial factor in determining star formation rates.

The aim of the FEAST observations is to discover and study stellar nurseries in galaxies beyond our Milky Way. Before the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) became operative, other observatories such as the Atacama Large Millimetre Array in the Chilean desert and Hubble have given us a glimpse of star formation either at the onset (tracing the dense gas and dust clouds where stars will form) or after the stars have destroyed with their energy their natal gas and dust clouds. Webb is opening a new window into the early stages of star formation and stellar light, as well as the energy reprocessing of gas and dust.

Scientists are seeing star clusters emerging from their natal cloud in galaxies beyond our local group for the first time. They can measure how long it takes for these stars to pollute with newly formed metals and to clean out the gas (these time scales are different from galaxy to galaxy). By studying these processes, we can better understand how star formation cycle and metal enrichment are regulated within galaxies as well as what are the time scales for planets and brown dwarfs to form. Moreover, once dust and gas is removed from the newly formed stars, there is no material left to form planets.

Comments

New Method Detects Small Asteroids in Main Belt, Offering Insight for Planetary Defense.

An international team of physicists, led by MIT researchers, has developed a groundbreaking method to detect small asteroids, as small as 10 meters in diameter, within the main asteroid belt. These space rocks, ranging from the size of a bus to several stadiums wide, were previously undetectable using traditional methods. The team's discovery, detailed in a paper published in Nature, could significantly improve tracking of potential asteroid impactors, aiding planetary defense efforts. The main asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter, is home to millions of asteroids, but until now, scientists could only detect objects roughly a kilometer in diameter. The new detection technique, which utilizes the "shift and stack" method, is able to identify much smaller asteroids, even those far from Earth, enabling more precise orbital tracking. This breakthrough is crucial for planetary defense, allowing scientists to spot near-Earth objects that may pose a threat in the fu...

Tropical Cyclone Sean Hits Western Australia, Breaking Rainfall Records and Causing Damage.

On January 17, 2025, a tropical low formed over the Indian Ocean off Western Australia. By January 19, the system had intensified into Tropical Cyclone Sean, marking the second tropical cyclone of Australia’s 2024–2025 season. NASA’s Terra satellite, using the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument, captured a detailed image of the storm at around 10 a.m. local time (02:00 Universal Time) on January 20, 2025. Later that same day, Cyclone Sean reached its peak strength as a Category 4 storm. Despite staying offshore and not making landfall, Cyclone Sean still brought significant impacts to the Pilbara coast. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) reported that Karratha, a coastal city in the region, received a staggering 274.4 millimeters (10.8 inches) of rain in just 24 hours, setting a new single-day rainfall record for the city. The powerful storm caused widespread flooding, with roads submerged, homes affected, and power infrastructure damaged. Se...

NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Reveals New Details of the Orion Nebula’s Star Formation.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image captures the Orion Nebula (Messier 42, M42), the nearest star-forming region to Earth, located about 1,500 light-years away. A captivating new image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope offers an extraordinary look into the Orion Nebula, the nearest massive star-forming region to Earth. Located just 1,500 light-years away, this nebula is visible to the naked eye below the three stars forming Orion's "belt." The region is home to hundreds of newborn stars, including two protostars featured in the image: HOPS 150 and HOPS 153. Named after the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey, conducted with ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory, the protostars HOPS 150 and HOPS 153 provide key insights into the early stages of star formation. HOPS 150, visible in the upper-right corner of the image, is a binary star system, with two young stars orbiting one another. These protostars are surrounded by small dusty disks, where material from th...

Infinity Cosmos

Search This Blog