Decidedly, the James-Webb telescope has the art of surprising us. After providing spectacular images of the Ring Nebula, the space tool has just delivered no less striking images of the Tourbillon galaxy. Operating mainly in the infrared, thanks to the NIRCam (Near-InfraRed Camera) and the MIRI (Mid-InfraRed Instrument), two of the instruments on board the telescope, James-Webb was able to capture the winding arms of this known spiral galaxy also under its code name, M51.
The Tourbillon galaxy is relatively close to us (27 million light-years) and is located in the constellation of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici). It was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier on October 13, 1773. Also known as NGC 5194, it forms a pair with NGC 5195, a nearby dwarf galaxy. Because of this interaction, this pair of galaxies is one of the best studied.
“In this image, the dark red regions trace the filamentary hot dust that permeates the middle of the galaxy. Red regions show reprocessed light from complex molecules forming on dust grains, while orange and yellow colors reveal regions of gas ionized by newly formed star clusters. The stellar feedback has a dramatic effect on the middle of the galaxy and creates an intricate network of bright nodes as well as cavernous black bubbles“, specifies the ESA in its press release.
This image is part of the FEAST (Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Sart ClusTers) program, which aims to shed light on the interaction between stellar feedback and star formation in environments outside our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Thanks to the James-Webb telescope, and for the first time, “scientists observe star clusters emerging from their natal cloud in galaxies beyond our Local Group. Studying these processes will allow us to better understand how the star formation cycle and metal enrichment are regulated within galaxies, as well as the timing of formation of planets and brown dwarfs.“, continues the ESA.