New View of Spiral Galaxy NGC 7496 | James Webb Space Telescope & Hubble

New View of Spiral Galaxy NGC 7496 | James Webb Space Telescope & Hubble

This beautiful new image shows the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7496, which lies over 24 million light-years away in the constellation Grus. It combines optical (Hubble), radio (ALMA), and infrared (James Webb) telescope data. The Grus constellation, whose name is Latin for crane, is one of four constellations collectively known as the Southern Birds. The others are Pavo, Phoenix and Tucana, which depict a peacock, phoenix, and toucan respectively. The rest of the night sky is also home to a flock of ornithological constellations, including an eagle (Aquilla), swan (Cygnus), crow (Corvus), and dove (Columba). 

This image comes from a collection of observations delving into the relationship between young stars and the cold, dense clouds of gas in which they form. In addition to observations with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys, the astronomers behind this project gathered data using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), one of the largest radio telescopes in the world—including the James Webb Space Telescope.

As well as shedding light on the speed and efficiency of star formation in a variety of galactic environments, this project is also creating a treasury of data incorporating both Hubble and ALMA observations. This treasure trove of data from two of the world’s most capable observatories will contribute to wider research into star formation, as well as paving the way for future science with the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Judy Schmidt: "As I work through trying out different ways to combine the data [from the Hubble & Webb space telescopes], this method stood out as particularly pretty, even if it lacks immediate scientific clarity. The glowing strands and flocks of dust, which would normally be dark in visible light imagery, are instead bright and glowing with infrared light from JWST.

Data from the PHANGS-HST program were used to create this image:

https://bit.ly/3ofDJ2R

More on PHANGS here: phangs.stsci.edu

Technical Info:

Processing notes and filter combinations:

JWST Filter Combination:

Cyan: [mathematical operation] NIRCam F335M-(NIRCam F300M+NIRCam F360W)

Orange: MIRI F770W

Luminosity (grayscale): MIRI F770W

JWST data are overlaid on HST data with a Photoshop screen layer mode.

Credit: NASA/European Space Agency (ESA)/Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)/Canadian Space Agency (CSA)/J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team

Processing: Judy Schmidt

Release Date: July 18, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Hubble #Galaxy #NGC7496 #Spiral #Grus #Constellation #Science #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #JudySchmidt #CitizenScience #UnitedStates #STEM #Education