Jaws Drop at Images of Cosmic Orchestra by James Webb Space Telescope

From the oldest galaxies the human eyes have ever seen to the dramatic and spectacular death of stars, JWST kickstarts a new era in the field of astronomy with its first release of images on our universe.

These galaxies reside as far away as 290 million light-years away, which are considered relatively nearby in the field of astronomy, where many galaxies are observed to be billions of light years away. Being able to study these galaxies “nearer’’ to Earth allows astronomers to better understand the cosmic anatomy and parallel the study to a much more distant universe. Witnessing the lifecycle of stars and the interaction between galaxies, especially in such intricate detail and proximity, enables scientists to study galactic evolution in depth. As such, Stephan’s Quintet is a remarkable model to research on the processes fundamental to all galaxies.

As the young stars leave their birthplace, they sculpt their way out of the nebula with blazing ultraviolet radiation to rise above their younger siblings. The pillars of blue “steam” towering above the nebula are nothing but hot, ionized gas and hot dust produced from the intense radiation. This elusive event is entirely veiled in visible-light images. But JWST’s extreme sensitivity, spatial resolution and imaging capability has gifted us the opportunity to witness the birth and the coming of age of stars.

The mid-infrared light image also captured a brighter and younger companion closely orbiting the dimmer white dwarf. While this star is not yet on its deathbed, it is helping to distribute what its partner ejected. As both stars tango around the the center of the Southern Ring Nebula, they light up the outer areas of the nebula in orange (left image) and blue (right image), while the white dwarf heats up the gas in the inner region, which appear to be blue (left image) and red (right image). This star definitely knew how to go out with a bang!

JWST’s imaging capabilities is not the only factor in rendering this image. A view of distant galaxies as great as this would not have been possible without gravitational lensing, created by the mass of the galaxy cluster, that magnifies more distant and older galaxies. In the image itself, cosmic elements further away appear redder in infrared light, while those nearer to us appear lighter. In fact, there are specks of red in the snapshot that are galaxies from the early universe, just a few million years after the Big Bang!

In this cosmic ocean, mankind is always in search of answers to questions about the universe, galaxies, stars and his origin. Part of his efforts in this quest includes JWST. There have been many areas of the universe that were once invisible, but we are now able to witness thanks to JWST and the team behind the telescope. JWST promises a new era in the field of astronomy and the best of the telescope is only yet to come.

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