NGC 1433 spiral arms are littered with evidence of extremely young stars releasing energy

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is providing unprecedented resolution at infrared wavelengths to researchers who are getting their first look at nearby galaxies’ star formation, gas, and dust. As a result, the team has produced 21 research papers that give new insights into how the beginnings of star formation impact the evolution of galaxies.

The Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies (PHANGS) collaboration, comprising over 100 researchers from across the world, is conducting the largest survey of nearby galaxies in Webb’s first year of science operations. Observations of five of the 19 spiral galaxies studied have already been taken by Webb, revealing a network of highly structured features such as glowing cavities of dust and cavernous bubbles of gas that line the spiral arms.

Team member David Thilker of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, said:

“The clarity with which we are seeing the fine structure certainly caught us by surprise. We are directly seeing how the energy from the formation of young stars affects the gas around them, and it’s just remarkable.”

The high-resolution imaging needed to study these structures has long eluded astronomers. Webb’s infrared capabilities can pierce through the dust to provide clarity.

Team member Karin Sandstrom of the University of California, San Diego, said:

“Areas which are completely dark in Hubble imaging light up in exquisite detail in these new infrared images, allowing us to study how the dust in the interstellar medium has absorbed the light from forming stars and emitted it back out in the infrared, illuminating an intricate network of gas and dust.”

The PHANGS team will work to create and release data sets that align Webb’s data to each of the complementary data sets obtained previously from the other observatories, to help accelerate discovery by the broader astronomical community. Janice Lee, Gemini Observatory chief scientist at the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, said:

“Thanks to the telescope’s resolution, for the first time we can conduct a complete census of star formation, and take inventories of the interstellar medium bubble structures in nearby galaxies beyond the Local Group. That census will help us understand how star formation and its feedback imprint themselves on the interstellar medium, then give rise to the next generation of stars, or how it actually impedes the next generation of stars from being formed.”

Check out the stunning photos in the gallery below.

This image taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows one of a total of 19 galaxies targeted for study by the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies (PHANGS) collaboration. Nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 1433 takes on a completely new look when observed by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).
Scientists are getting their first look with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s powerful resolution at how the formation of young stars influences the evolution of nearby galaxies. The spiral arms of NGC 7496, one of a total of 19 galaxies targeted for study by the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies (PHANGS) collaboration, are filled with cavernous bubbles and shells overlapping one another in this image from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). These filaments and hollow cavities are evidence of young stars releasing energy and, in some cases, blowing out the gas and dust of the interstellar medium surrounding them.
Scientists are getting their first look with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s powerful resolution at how the formation of young stars influences the evolution of nearby galaxies. NGC 1365, observed here by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), is one of a total of 19 galaxies targeted for study by the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies (PHANGS) collaboration.
This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 1433, captured by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.
his image of the nearby galaxy NGC 7496, captured by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.
This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 1365, captured by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference. The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above). At the lower right is a scale bar labeled 8,000 light-years, 30 arcseconds. The length of the scale bar is approximately one-fifth the total width of the image. Below the image is a color key showing which MIRI filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right, MIRI filters are: F770W is blue; F1000W and F1130W are green; and F2100W is red.

Image Credits

In-Article Image Credits

NGC 1433 spiral arms are littered with evidence of extremely young stars releasing energy via James Webb Space Telescope with usage type - Public Domain. SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, Janice Lee (NOIRLab) IMAGE PROCESSING: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
The spiral arms of NGC 7496 via James Webb Space Telescope with usage type - Public Domain. SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, Janice Lee (NOIRLab) IMAGE PROCESSING: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
NGC 1365 is a double-barred spiral galaxy that lies about 56 million light years away from Earth in the constellation Fornax via James Webb Space Telescope with usage type - Public Domain. SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, Janice Lee (NOIRLab) IMAGE PROCESSING: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
NGC 1433 (MIRI Compass Image) via James Webb Space Telescope with usage type - Public Domain. SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, Janice Lee (NOIRLab)
Nearby galaxy NGC 7496 via James Webb Space Telescope with usage type - News Release Media. SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, Janice Lee (NOIRLab) IMAGE PROCESSING: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Nearby galaxy NGC 1365 via James Webb Space Telescope with usage type - Public Domain. SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, Janice Lee (NOIRLab) IMAGE PROCESSING: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)