Since the moment it unfurled its distinctive hexagonal mirror in early 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope has provided the world with a steady stream of stunning images. This year was no exception. Throughout 2024, JWST will delight scientists and amateur astronomers alike with everything from spectacular photos of nebulae and galaxy collisions to images of some of the most distant celestial objects ever observed. It made me happy. Here are some of our favorites.
spiral galaxy images
NASA kicked off the new year with a series of 19 gorgeous images of spiral galaxies. By combining data from JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIR-Cam) and Mid-Infrared Observatory (MIRI) with visible-light images from the Hubble Space Telescope, these images reveal the complex and beautiful internal structures of these galaxies. provides a detailed view of the .
Neutron star in supernova remnant
About 168,000 years ago, a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud exploded in a spectacular Type II supernova. Light from this event reached Earth in early 1987, and the explosion was bright enough to be visible to the naked eye for several months. Since then, scientists have speculated about what kind of stellar debris was left behind. Most models suggested a neutron star, but no such object was detected. In February, JWST’s infrared camera discovered a theoretical neutron star hidden in a cloud of dust, solving the mystery.
incredibly distant ancient objects
JWST continues to break records for the most distant (and therefore oldest) examples of various astronomical objects.
- Supermassive black hole: In March, JWST Found GN-z11at the time, was the oldest galaxy ever observed. The galaxy’s astonishing brightness suggests that it harbors a supermassive black hole, which would be the most distant black hole ever discovered.
- Galaxy: In May, JWST broke its own record for the most distant galaxy ever observed with galaxy JADES-GS-z14-10, which dates back just 300 million years after the Big Bang.
- Black hole merger: Also in May, JWST found the evidence It concerns the merger of two galaxies and their central black holes, 740 million years after the Big Bang.
Details of the Horsehead Nebula
The Horsehead Nebula is first recorded in 1888 Scottish astronomer Williamna Fleming noticed this phenomenon in photographic plates of the night sky. Fleming would no doubt have been surprised and delighted by this photo, one of several. Released in April by JWST TeamShe then zooms in on a small section at the top of the shape, which she simply records as “a region of the nebula within a semicircular depression.”
Bipolar jets aligned in star-forming regions
When a star forms, some of the material is ejected in a jet perpendicular to the plane of the accretion disk. Scientists theorized that in star-forming regions, these bipolar jets would align with each other. In June, JWST brilliantly confirmed this theory With a direct image of the phenomenon.
Two images of galaxies colliding
When it comes to cosmic events, there are few as dramatic as one entire galaxy colliding with another. JWST published images from two such events this year. First photo of the event (left) Alp 142involving galaxies NGC 2936 and NGC 2937. The former was once a spiral galaxy, but the gravity of the collision stretched and deformed it, resulting in the strange shape that gave NGC 2936 the nickname “Penguin Galaxy.” The second image (right) is Alp 102a merger of galaxies approximately 465 million light years away. In both cases, the two galaxies involved will merge into one supergalaxy over hundreds of millions of years.
Probably an unknown stage of galaxy formation
In September, JWST observed an ancient galaxy (Dating back 1 billion years after the Big Bang) It has spectral features never seen before. This signature suggested that the galaxy’s gas was so hot that it outshined the stars inside. The current theory is that this gas was superheated by so-called “third generation stars.” These stars were the very first generation to form and were much hotter and brighter than any stars that exist today.
unusual gravitational lensing effect
Objects with mass can act like lenses because they bend light. This image is A rare type of gravitational lens An effect called “hyperbolic umbilical gravitational lensing”[ing]” This effect distorts the image of the red galaxy, but at the same time magnifies it, making it possible to study its structure. You can also see how much detail JWST can capture by comparing it to Hubble Telescope images of the same region of the sky.
Two horrifying blood-red eyes
Rather this ominous image It combines data from the Hubble Telescope and JWST and was released in time for Halloween. clearly.
The first brown dwarf to appear outside the Milky Way
Brown dwarfs are failed stars. They are significantly larger than the largest planets, but not large enough to sustain hydrogen fusion and become full-fledged stars. In October, JWST found the first evidence Our extragalactic brown dwarf is located in a young star-forming region called NGC 602, outside the Small Magellanic Cloud, about 200,000 light-years away.
Details of the Sombrero Galaxy
In November, JWST paid attention Head to Messier 104, also known as the “Sombrero Galaxy.” Although this galaxy was previously imaged by the Hubble telescope, JWST’s images are clearer and more detailed, even if it rather detracts from the galaxy’s nickname. The “top” of the sombrero is not visible to JWST’s infrared camera.
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