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Credit & Copyright: ESA/Webb,
NASA,
CSA, J. Lee and the
PHANGS-JWST and PHANGS-HST Teams
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)
Explanation:
What does the universe look like through
infrared goggles?
Our eyes can only see
visible light,
but astronomers want to see more.
TodayÁs APOD shows
spiral galaxy
IC 5332
as seen by two
NASA
telescopes:
Webb in
mid-infrared
and Hubble in
ultraviolet
and visible light.
To toggle between the two space-based views just slide your cursor over
the image
(or follow this link).
The Hubble image highlights the
spiral arms
of the galaxy separated by
dark
regions, whereas the Webb image reveals a finer, more tangled structure.
Interstellar dust
scatters and absorbs light from the stars in the galaxy,
causing the
dark dust lanes
in the Hubble image, and then emits heat in infrared light, so dust
glows
in this Webb image.
The
Mid-InfraRed Instrument
on Webb needs to operate at a chilling temperature of
-266áC (or - 447áF), otherwise it would detect infrared radiation from
the telescope itself.
Combining
these observations,
astronomers
connect the Ásmall scaleÁ of gas and stars to the truly large scale of
galactic structure and evolution.
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: spiral galaxy - multiwavelength
Publications with words: spiral galaxy - multiwavelength
See also: