NGC 1365 (MIRI Image)

NGC 1365 (MIRI Image)

Scientists are getting their first look with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s powerful resolution at how the formation of young stars influences the evolution of nearby galaxies. NGC 1365, observed here by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), is one of a total of 19 galaxies targeted for study by the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies (PHANGS) collaboration. 

In the MIRI observations of NGC 1365, clumps of dust and gas in the interstellar medium have absorbed the light from forming stars and emitted it back out in the infrared, lighting up an intricate network of cavernous bubbles and filamentary shells created by young stars releasing energy into the galaxy’s spiral arms. 

The exquisite resolution from Webb also picks up several extremely bright star clusters not far from the core and newly observed, recently formed clusters along the outer edges of the bar connecting to the spiral arms, only visible with Webb due to the thick dust in this region.

Additionally, the Webb images provide insights into how the orbits of stars and gas vary depending on where they form, and how this results in the population of older clusters outside the inner star-formation ring.

NGC 1365 is a double-barred spiral galaxy that lies about 56 million light years away from Earth in the constellation Fornax. It’s one of the largest galaxies currently known to astronomers, spanning twice the length of the Milky Way across. 

MIRI was contributed by ESA and NASA, with the instrument designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in partnership with the University of Arizona.

Credits

Science

NASA, ESA, CSA, Janice Lee (NSF's NOIRLab)

Image Processing

Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

About The Object
Object Name NGC 1365, The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy
Object Description Barred spiral galaxy
R.A. Position 03:33:34.76
Dec. Position -36:08:35.33
Constellation Fornax
Distance 56 million light-years
About The Data
Data Description This image was created with Webb data from proposal: (J. Lee).
Instrument MIRI
Exposure Dates 13 Aug 2022
Filters F770W, F1000W, F1130, F2100W
About The Image
Color Info These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the MIRI instrument. Several filters were used to sample wide 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: F770W, Green: F1000W+F1130W, Red: F2100W
Compass Image A large galaxy takes up the entirety of the image, with the lower right portion of the galaxy’s spiral arms extending off frame. The core of the galaxy is just off center to the lower right. The bright white, slightly pinkish core is not a perfect circle—it’s an elongated oval with bright, narrow, diffuse arms extending a short way out at each narrow end of the oval. The main spiral arm to the upper left of the core is wispy and highlights filaments of dust around cavernous black bubbles. Throughout, there is also a smattering of background galaxies seen as small red and greenish dots.
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
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
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.

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