Four new composite images including X-rays from Chandra and infrared data from JWST. Clockwise from left, the images reveal: NGC 346, a star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud; the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672; Messier 16 (also known as the Eagle Nebula); and Messier 74, a spiral galaxy similar to the Milky Way. (Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand)
If you've ever wished you had X-ray vision, NASA has some photos for you.
NASA has released four composite images using data from several of its most advanced telescopes to depict our universe in different wavelengths of light, including data collected by the
Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the
Hubble Space Telescope.
The
images, which show two
galaxies, a star cluster, and a
nebula, are rendered in dazzling colors representing X-ray and infrared radiation, as well as optical
The two galaxies pictured are called NGC 1672 and
M74. Categorized as a barred spiral galaxy for its straight, "barred" arms of stars near its center, NGC 1672 is a galaxy about 60 million light-years from
Earth. The new composite image shows several areas, especially in its outer arms, emitting intense X-ray radiation, shown in purple. According to NASA, these areas represent super-dense objects, such as neutron stars and black holes, that are pulling material into the galaxy.
NGC 1672 is a spiral galaxy, but one that astronomers refer to as a "barred" spiral. In regions close to their centers, the arms of barred spiral galaxies are mostly in a straight band of stars across the center that encloses the core, as opposed to other spirals that have arms that twist all the way to their core. (Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand)
M74 is a spiral galaxy like our own galactic home the
Milky Way, located about 32 million light-years away from us. Also called the Phantom Galaxy because it is visibly very dim, the galaxy has an intricate lacey structure revealed by JWST. Now, data from Chandra notes multiple sources of X-ray radiation, including young stars, dotting the spiral.
Messier 74 is nicknamed the Phantom Galaxy because it is relatively dim, making it harder to spot with small telescopes than other galaxies (Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand)
Another image shows M16, also called The Eagle Nebula, which is about 6,500 light years away. The image shows the nebula's famous "
Pillars of Creation," dramatic clouds of dust and gas containing young stars, the most intense of which are highlighted in brilliant pinks and purples to show the powerful X-rays they emit. The image highlights the finding that most of these young, X-ray-emitting stars are
actually outside the pillars, with only a few young stars emitting this intense radiation from within the clouds.
Messier 16, also known as the Eagle Nebula, is a famous region of the sky often referred to as the "Pillars of Creation." (Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand)
The image with the most notable contribution by Chandra might be of NGC 346, a star cluster in the
Small Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy 200,000 light-years from Earth. A bright purple splotch on the left side of the image highlights the remnants of a
supernova explosion, the spectacular death of a huge star.
Read more: This new supernova is the closest to Earth in a decade. It's visible in the night sky right now.
NGC 346 is a star cluster in a nearby galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, about 200,000 light-years from Earth. The purple cloud on the left seen with Chandra is the remains of a supernova explosion from a massive star. (Image credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, N. Wolk, and K. Arcand)
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