Using its infrared cameras, the space telescope captured a galaxy experiencing a burst of star formation due to the absorption of its neighbor.
The Webb Space Telescope captured images of dwarf galaxy NGC 4449, located 12.5 million light-years away. It is an irregular galaxy with a characteristic bar (a structure consisting of stars and gas) at its center. Most interestingly, there is an intense increase in the formation of new stars throughout the galaxy. Space writes that thanks to this research, scientists will be able to find out what will happen to the satellite galaxy of the Milky Way in the future and at the same time look into the distant past of the Universe.
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An intense burst of star formation occurs in galaxies when strong turbulence occurs in the molecular hydrogen filling the galaxy. This occurs as a result of gravitational interaction or a collision with another galaxy. In the case of NGC 4449, astronomers believe the galaxy pulled in its smaller dwarf neighbor and ripped it apart.
This event caused a large number of molecular hydrogen clouds to collapse under the influence of gravity, resulting in the formation of young star clusters. They can be seen in Webb telescope images, among other features of NGC 444.
The near-infrared image of the galaxy NGC 4449 is significantly different from the mid-infrared image. It is important to note that all colors are false and correspond to infrared wavelengths.
The NIRCam image clearly shows the bridge, where newly formed hot star clusters are positioned against a background of older stars whose combined light appears as a diffused blue glow. Dust surrounds the bright center of the galaxy and contains star-forming regions where molecular gas is ionized by radiation from newborn stars.
The MIRI image shows the dusty skeleton of galaxy NGC 4449 following the line of the bar, but the dust appears more densely concentrated around it. The orange-red dust contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which play an important role in space chemistry and the distribution of organic material throughout the galaxy. The bright yellow areas are sites of active star formation, and the bright blue dots are the bright stars in the galaxy.
Webb telescope data provide an excellent picture of a galaxy experiencing an intense burst of new star formation that will affect its evolution for billions of years to come. Using NGC 4449, we can see what might happen to the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy if its gravitational interaction with the Small Magellanic Cloud (another moon of our galaxy) or the Milky Way becomes too strong.
NGC 4449 is also a modern version of small galaxies that existed in the early Universe. These dwarf galaxies were the building blocks of the larger galaxies that can be seen today. NGC 4449 therefore represents a unique window into the past and future evolution of the Universe.
As I already wrote FocusMassive magnetic stars have been discovered for the first time outside the Milky Way. The magnetism of very massive stars affects the evolution of the galaxy, but this is not yet fully understood.
We remind you that astronomers have found a new distant galaxy that breaks a record among known galaxies. It already existed 300 million years after the birth of the universe. Thus, with the help of the Webb telescope, astronomers were able to look into the past another 100 million years, as mentioned before. Focus.
Source: Focus
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