Today, NASA published the Phantom Galaxy, also known as M74 and NGC 628. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured it. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Webb telescope send back an image of the Phantom Galaxy. NASA earlier in 2022.
Below is a picture of 2022 for comparison. Despite the different colors, it is clear that both images are of the same galaxy.
Webb captured the old image using only the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI). In contrast, the new one combines data from MIRI and Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). This combination allowed scientists from the Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Star clusTers (FEAST) team to observe the locations of the Phantom Galaxy.
For those who don’t know, star centers are regions in space filled with gas and molecular clouds. This is where stars and planets are born. For that reason, some people also refer to them as star forming regions.
The primary goal of the FEAST team is to examine the response of stars to regions outside the Milky Way galaxy while observing star formation. By looking at how much energy from stars radiates into the environment, scientists can better understand how stars form.
Combined data from Webb’s MIRI and NIRCam instruments allowed scientists to conclude that the spiral arms of the Phantom Galaxy are where most stars form in the celestial body. Thanks to NIRCam, JWST can now see hydrogen emission lines, which are less affected by dust and show where massive stars have recently formed.
JWST continues to post images for our enjoyment, courtesy of . For those who like to watch more, The has a lot of them.
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