© Judy Schmidt/FlickerAn example of Ms Schmidt's earlier work with Hubble images of ARP 82
It hasn't even been a fortnight since the first image release, and the James Webb Space Telescope is just continuously knocking all our socks off.
Only a few images have been officially released, but that hasn't stopped citizen scientists digging through the raw data to see what they can find.
One of those is Judy Schmidt, who has been processing raw space data into breathtaking images for years. Courtesy of her painstaking work, we now have absolutely jaw-dropping images of two spectacular spiral galaxies.
The first is
NGC 628, also known as the Phantom Galaxy. The other is NGC 7496. Both are relatively close to the Milky Way, and both are the subject of ongoing observations as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (
PHANGS) survey, to better chart the connections between young stars and the clouds of cold molecular gas that give birth to them.
© Judy Schmidt/Flickr, CC BY 2.0Webb's new image of NGC 628.
Contributing to PHANGS is one of Webb's early assignments, and already the images show that the newly deployed space telescope is very much worth the hype.
NGC 628 is one of the more spectacular kinds of galaxies in our sky. It's what is known as a "grand design" spiral galaxy: one with prominent, well-formed, and relatively unobscured arms. And, at just 32 million light-years away, it's close enough to provide plenty of detail for study.
© NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble CollaborationHubble image of NGC 628 released in 2007.
Previous observations have revealed that the galaxy's spiral arms are rich with star-forming gas seeded with young and emerging stars. Astronomers have also observed at least three supernovae in NGC 628 since the turn of the millennium.
NGC 7496, located a mere 24 million light-years away, is what is known as a barred spiral galaxy, with spiral arms extending from a distinct bar that crosses the center of the galaxy. This is thought to be the result of uneven density in the galactic disk; the denser region pulls stars towards it to create bars.
© Judy Schmidt/Flickr, CC BY 2.0Webb's new view of NGC 7496.
These bars are thought to be regions of rich star formation as gas is channeled inward towards their centers. A beautiful barred spiral like NGC 7496 that is clearly visible is therefore an excellent laboratory for studying how stars are born.
© ESA/Hubble & NASA/J. Lee/the PHANGS-HST Team/Judy SchmidtA Hubble image of NGC 7496 released earlier this year.
You'll notice that Webb's images are very different from those of Hubble - and that's a good thing. The two telescopes operate in different light regimes.
Hubble is primarily an optical and ultraviolet instrument, while Webb sees in infrared, which can capture light obscured by dust and gas in optical wavelengths. This means that the observations are complementary; Hubble picks up the gas, and Webb can see the newborn stars inside it.
As
explained by astronomer David Thilker of Johns Hopkins University,
"We're going to clearly see star clusters in the hearts of these dense molecular clouds that before we only had indirect evidence of. Webb gives us a way to look inside these 'star factories' to see the freshly assembled star clusters and measure their properties before they evolve."As you can see by comparing the images, Webb still picks up the glowing gas, but shows much more detail. In Hubble's images, the galactic nuclei are just a bright, featureless glow; Webb cuts through and shows much greater detail about what's happening in the space around the supermassive black holes around which the galaxies revolve.
We're standing at the precipice of a bold new era of space science. Already Webb seems to have identified a galaxy at a
record-breaking distance, the earliest ever discovered. The papers are
coming thick and fast on arXiv. Now these new images are some of the most detailed infrared views we've ever seen of spiral galaxies.
Scientists are yet to perform an analysis; we'll be waiting in hot anticipation of what Webb's data will reveal. Meanwhile, we're content to revel in the extreme pretty.
The new images are available on
Schmidt's Flickr page, where you can download them in high resolution.
Reader Comments
The Webb telescope is colorblind. The WEBB sees Infrared only, colors are not possible. Additionally, structurally speaking the WEBB can only produce 3 pointed stars. The number of points on stars in reflector telescopes is determined by how many struts are holding the secondary mirror. The Webb has 3 struts. Therefore, the stars will have 3 points.
Go here: [Link]
Webb is using Hubble images, see video, scroll down Lagoon (M8) Hubble stamped in right hand corner
"Judy Schmidt, who has been processing raw space data into breathtaking images for years". This is Photoshop, and they admit it.
NASA has been photoshopping and rendering for years, even its admirers agreet. But in case of infrared (or UV or long waves) it's kind of necessary... Whether the "artist's rendition" adds something or subtract from the gained knowledge is another question.
I've been studying tornadoes, watch the latest to drop in the USA, space strangely doesn't seem that special anymore.
Even looking top-down on the spirals, I have to wonder if solar systems near the center are similar to the solar systems toward the outside, just like they would be in fractals.
I question though, what influences creation most?
For fractal activities to perform, they would require a non-hostile environment, so chicken or egg first?
I believe its the environment that propagates such forms and not the forms themselves.
WN3.
Neither. It was the rooster that came first...
Black is white, up is down, war is peace, diversity is strength.
That's some warped catch-22 logic they've tried to trap us with
Anyway, for my part, I would think that the PTB would rather wish to discourage and leave our sails limp and lifeless, rather than trying to inspire us... If there was any photoshopping going on, I would venture that they were photoshopping to calm the images down, not make them grander.
Looking at the stars at night is like having the big question mark of life staring at one in the face, it's impossible not to ask: why?
I personally find the Flat Earth theory a kind of backward game of chess where one is forced to move to a position, because the opposition have left one with no choice... It's kind of based on the worldview that "THEY make our reality... so I will make my own reality, which is just the rebellious negative image of what I'm being told to believe"... at the end of the day, it is still 'them' making one's reality, albeit through the laws of mechanical rebellion.
Going back to WN3's comment, there are plenty of mysteries here on the Earth, there is no end to knowledge, and truly the biggest mystery and 'final frontier' would have to be our own inner space... How many atoms are we made out of? How many universes and worlds do we carry inside us? And all in all, whilst we let it go unconquered and do not shine the light of our attention to all corners of our body, other shadowy entities will try to do so instead.
I tend to end sarcastic comments with the emoji
They will outlaw shoe laces soon because that’s just to much independence. How dare we do up our own laces!
Did you see that the UK government is now sanctioning British citizens for video blogging the truth in Donbass (Graham Philips)
I'm really torn between Truss and Sunak ... Truss was offering us a lovely war with Russia and then Sunak steps up and promises war with China ... choices, choices
Question Everything
The average person in the First World receives more information than he would if he lived in a Second or Third World country. In many countries of the world, the very idea of twenty-four hour...Yeah I saw that. Slippery slope, how long before they start looking at domestic people who visit sites like this? This all only heads in one direction
I’d rather choose which limb to lose.