Editor’s Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process.
By combining data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, researchers were able to trace light that was emitted by the large white elliptical galaxy at left through the spiral galaxy at right and identify the effects of interstellar dust in the spiral galaxy. This image of galaxy pair VV 191 includes near-infrared light from Webb, and ultraviolet and visible light from Hubble.
Webb’s near-infrared data also show us the galaxy’s longer, extremely dusty spiral arms in far more detail, giving them an appearance of overlapping with the central bulge of the bright white elliptical galaxy on the left. Although the two foreground galaxies are relatively close astronomically speaking, they are not actively interacting.
Don’t overlook the background scenery! Like many Webb images, this image of VV 191 shows many galaxies that lie great distances away. For example, two patchy spirals to the upper left of the elliptical galaxy have similar apparent sizes, but show up in very different colors. One is likely very dusty and the other very far away, but researchers need to obtain data known as spectra to determine which is which.
Webb’s NIRCam was built by a team at the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center.
Credits
Science
NASA, ESA, CSA, Rogier Windhorst (ASU), William Keel (University of Alabama), Stuart Wyithe (University of Melbourne), JWST PEARLS Team
Image Processing
Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | VV 191 |
| Object Description | Overlapping galaxies |
| R.A. Position | 13 48 22.367 |
| Dec. Position | +25 40 49.66 |
| Constellation | Boötes |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created from JWST and HST data from proposals: (R. A. Windhorst), (B. W. Holwerda) ; (B. W. Holwerda) |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/UVIS JWST>NIRCam |
| Exposure Dates | 19 June 2015, 16 Dec 2018, 2 July 2022 |
| Filters | HST> F336W, F606W JWST> F356W, F150W, F090W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope using the NIRCam and WFC3/UVIS instruments respectively. Several filters were used to sample infrared, visible and ultraviolet 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: Red: F356W Yellow: F150W, Green: F090W, Blue: F336W + F606W |
| 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. |
