Sign up for CNN’s Theories of Magic newsletter. Explore the universe with news of surprising discoveries, scientific advancements, and more.
CNN
–
When astronomers combine observations from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope, they capture a more detailed picture of the universe.
The new image showing a pair of galaxies, shared by NASA on Wednesday, is a surprising result of using data from the two space observatories.
Both telescopes contributed observations at various wavelengths of light. Webb is capable of detecting infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, while Hubble has the ability to observe two galaxies in visible light and ultraviolet light. The duo of elliptical and spiral galaxies is known as VV 191, Located 700 million light years from Earth.
“We achieved more than we expected by combining data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope!” Webb writes an interdisciplinary scientist and Regent Professor at Arizona State University Roger Windhurst Nasa blog.
“The new data from Webb allowed us to trace the light emitted from a bright white elliptical galaxy, on the left, through a spiral galaxy on the right, and to determine the effect of interstellar dust in spiral galaxies. … Webb’s near infrared also show “We are spiral arms. The higher and very dusty galaxies are much more detailed, giving the appearance of arms overlapping the central bulge of the bright white elliptical galaxy on the left.”
The images are the preliminary results of the so-called monitoring program Main extragalactic region for reionization and lens science, or PEARLS, of Webb Telescope, which has not yet undergone a peer review process. The study was presented to the Astrophysical Journal.
Scientists selected galactic pairs from nearly 2,000 candidates identified by scientific volunteers residing in the Galaxy Zoo. These tiny galaxies, which appear very close to each other, don’t actually interact with each other, but allow researchers to track and compare galactic dust.
“It is important to understand where dust is in galaxies, because dust changes the brightness and color that appear in galaxy images,” Windhurst wrote. “The dust grains are partly responsible for the formation of new stars and planets, so we always try to determine their presence for further study.”
But a closer look at this pair of galaxies isn’t the only celestial wonder revealed in this composite image. Behind the pair, another galaxy also appeared, and one of these points of light led to the second discovery in the new image. This phenomenon, called gravitational lensing, occurs when a galaxy in the foreground acts as a magnifying glass for the objects behind it.
Scientists use the same technique for Webb’s first photo was released in July. According to NASA, the space telescope “provides the deepest and most accurate infrared image of the distant universe to date.”
Above the white elliptical galaxy on the left is a faint red arc, and it is actually a very distant galaxy. The gravity of the elliptical galaxy in the foreground bends the light of the outer galaxy. Warp also causes distant galaxies to reappear as red dots in the lower right of elliptical galaxies.
Images of distant galaxies are too faint to be recognized in the Hubble data, but they are clearly visible in Webb’s near-infrared observations.
“Simulations of gravitationally lensed galaxies like this one help us reconstruct the amount of mass in each star, along with how much dark matter there is in the galaxy’s core,” Windhurst wrote.
He adds that in addition to the insights astronomers have received about VV 191, this background image of Webb alludes to a deeper mystery in the universe that has yet to be revealed. “The two incomplete spirals in the upper left of the elliptical galaxy are similar in apparent size, but appear in very different colors. One can be very dusty and the other very far away, but we – or other astronomers – need to get some known data. as a spectrum to determine which “.
