The Cartwheel Galaxy is 500 million light-years away, in the constellation Sculptor.
Observing the chaos of the Wheel Galaxy, US Space Agency NASA’s James Webb Telescope has discovered new information about star formation and the galaxy’s central black hole. Against the backdrop of many other galaxies, Webb’s strong infrared vision captured beautiful images of the Wheel and two smaller companion galaxies. This image provides a fresh look at the galaxy’s evolution over billions of years, according to a release are from NASA.
The European Space Agency (ESA) shared an image of the Wheel Galaxy on his Twitter on Tuesday and said, “Telescopes have examined the Wheel Galaxy before, but our view was obscured by gas and #Webb, with its infrared imaging capabilities, has discovered new insights into the nature of the galaxy.”
Telescopes have examined the Cartwheel Galaxy before, but our view has been obscured by gas and dust. #Webb, with its infrared imaging capabilities, discovered new insights into the nature of the galaxy ???? https://t.co/pczZxNjh9Y (left: @HUBBLE_space 2010, right: @ESA_Webb 2022) pic.twitter.com/yC407vXPLP
– ESA (@esa) August 2, 2022
It is unusual to see the Wheel Galaxy, 500 million light-years away, in the constellation of Sculpture. This dramatic event, a high-speed collision between a large spiral galaxy and a smaller galaxy is not seen in this image but is what makes it look like a wagon wheel. The space agency added that the Cartwheel is one of a number of other smaller occurrences that are the result of galactic-scale collisions between the galaxies involved.
Furthermore, the structure and geometry of the galaxy were significantly affected by the collision and consisted of two rings – a brilliant inner ring and a brilliant outer ring. These two belts have grown further and further apart since the point of collision. The structure resembles ripples in a pond when a stone is thrown at it. Because of these distinguishing features, astronomers refer to this galaxy as a “ring galaxy,” a structure less frequent than spiral galaxies like the Milky Way.
Huge young star clusters are seen in the brightest region of the core, which also includes a very large amount of hot dust. On the other hand, star formation and supernovas dominate in the outer ring, which has been developing for almost 440 million years. This ring collides with surrounding gas as it grows, causing star formation, NASA added.
The Cartwheel has been studied by other observatories in the past, including the Hubble Space Telescope. However, with the amount of dust obscuring the view, the mysterious galaxy may indeed be buried in mystery. The Webb telescope is now revealing new information about the nature of the Cartwheel because of its ability to detect infrared light.
