NASA release dazzling new images from combined telescopes

May 26, 2023

Alex Baker

NASA has recently unveiled a new collection of mind-blowing images. Images from the two telescopes, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope were combined to create the most mesmerizing views of two galaxies, a nebula and a star cluster.

Each image combines Chandra’s X-rays (a form of high-energy light) with infrared data from previously released Webb images. This light data is invisible to the unaided human eye. NASA also used data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the retired Spitzer Space Telescope, the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton telescope and the European Southern Observatory’s New Technology Telescope.

Scientists took all this information from the different telescopes and combined it to create these jaw-dropping composite images. They turned invisible light into colours that our human eyes can perceive, bringing these images to life right in all their glory.

NGC 346:
NGC 346 is a star cluster in a nearby galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, about 200,000 light-years from Earth. Webb shows plumes and arcs of gas and dust that stars and planets use as source material during their formation. The purple cloud on the left, seen with Chandra, is the remains of a supernova explosion from a massive star. The Chandra data also reveals young, hot, and massive stars that send powerful winds outward from their surfaces. Additional data from Hubble and Spitzer is included, along with supporting data from XMM-Newton and ESO’s New Technology Telescope. (X-ray: purple and blue; infrared/optical: red, green, blue)

NGC 1672:
NGC 1672 is a spiral galaxy, but one that astronomers categorize as a “barred” spiral. In regions close to their centres, the arms of barred spiral galaxies are mostly in a straight band of stars across the centre that encloses the core, as opposed to other spirals that have arms that twist all the way to their core. The Chandra data reveals compact objects like neutron stars or black holes pulling material from companion stars as well as the remnants of exploded stars. Additional data from Hubble (optical light) helps fill out the spiral arms with dust and gas, while Webb data shows dust and gas in the galaxy’s spiral arms. (X-ray: purple; optical: red, green, blue; infrared: red, green, blue)

M16 (Eagle Nebula): Messier 16, also known as the Eagle Nebula, is a famous region of the sky often referred to as the “Pillars of Creation.” The Webb image shows the dark columns of gas and dust shrouding the few remaining fledgling stars just being formed. The Chandra sources, which look like dots, are young stars that give off copious amounts of X-rays. (X-ray: red, blue; infrared: red, green, blue)

M74: Messier 74 is also a spiral galaxy — like our Milky Way — that we see face-on from our vantage point on Earth. It is about 32 million light-years away. Messier 74 is nicknamed the Phantom Galaxy because it is relatively dim, making it harder to spot with small telescopes than other galaxies in Charles Messier’s famous catalogue from the 18th century. Webb outlines gas and dust in the infrared, while Chandra data spotlights high-energy activity from stars at X-ray wavelengths. Hubble optical data showcases additional stars and dust along the dust lanes. (X-ray: purple; optical: orange, cyan, blue, infrared: green, yellow, red, magenta)

The Eagle Nebula is perhaps better known as The Pillars of Creation and was made famous by the Hubble telescope capture in 1995. Since then, the James Webb Telescope gave us an updated and even more detailed and beautiful perspective of the iconic nebula in 2022.

Which one is your favourite?

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Alex Baker

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

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