Un equipo de astrónomos usó el telescopio espacial James Webb de la NASA para encuestar el Starburst Galaxy Messier 82 (M82), que se encuentra a 12 millones de años luz de distancia en la constelación de URSA Major. M82 organiza un frenesí de formación de estrellas, brotando nuevas estrellas 10 veces más rápido que la Galaxia de la Vía Láctea. Las capacidades infrarrojas de Webb permitieron a los científicos mirar a través de cortinas de polvo y gas que han oscurecido históricamente el proceso de formación de estrellas.
Esta imagen del instrumento Nircam (cámara cercana a la cámara cercana) de Webb muestra el centro de M82 en un nivel de detalles sin precedentes. Con la resolución de Webb, los astrónomos pueden distinguir fuentes compactas pequeñas y brillantes que son estrellas individuales o grupos de estrellas. Obtener un recuento preciso de las estrellas y clústeres que componen el centro de M82 puede ayudar a los astrónomos a comprender las diferentes fases de la formación de estrellas y los plazos para cada etapa.
En esta imagen, la luz a 2.12 micras es roja, 1.64 microns es verde y 1.40 microns es azul (filtros F212N, 164n y f140m, respectivamente).
créditos
Imagen
nasa, ESA, CSA, STSCI, Alberto Bolatto (Umd)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | M82, NGC 3034 |
| Object Description | Starburst Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 09:55:52.0 |
| Dec. Position | 69:40:48.99 |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Distance | 12 million light-years (3.7 Megaparsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created with Webb data from proposal: (M. Marin). Image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI). |
| Instrument | JWST>NIRCam |
| Exposure Dates | 5 Janurary 2024 |
| Filters | JWST> F140N, F164N, F212N |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample varying wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F140W, Green: F164N, Red: F212N |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
