The photographs revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope never cease to amaze. Now the instruments peer into the chaos of the Cartwheel galaxy, revealing new details about star formation: Webb’s powerful infrared vision, in that galaxy, T.Two smaller galaxies also appear in the background of many other galaxies.
The snapshot provided a new look at how the wagon wheel has changed over billions of years. Located approximately 500 million light-years away in the Sculptor Galaxy, this galaxy is a rare sight. The appearance, very similar to the appearance of the wheel, is the result of an extreme event: a high-speed collision between a large spiral galaxy and a small one. Collisions of intergalactic proportions always result in a cascade of different, smaller events between the galaxies involved. The wagon wheel is no exception: above all, the collision affected its shape and structure.
The galaxy has two rings, a bright inner and a colored outer. These spread outward from the collision center, like ripples in a pond after a stone is thrown into it.
Because of these unique features, astronomers call it a “ring galaxy,” a less common system than spiral galaxies like the Milky Way.
The bright core contains a large amount of hot dust, and the bright regions are home to massive clusters of young stars.
On the other hand, the outer ring, which has been expanding for about 440 million years, is dominated by star formation and supernovae. As this ring expands, it penetrates the surrounding gas and triggers star formation.
–
–
“Web junkie. Evangelist on social media. Professional communicator. Amateur explorer. Food practitioner.”
—-
–
