16.5 Million Stars Hidden Inside Cigar Galaxy Revealed
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured one of the clearest views yet of the Cigar Galaxy, revealing around 16.5 million individual stars that were previously hidden behind thick clouds of dust. The new observations are expected to help scientists better understand how the galaxy formed and why it is producing stars at such a rapid rate, according to NASA.
A Closer Look At The Cigar Galaxy
The galaxy, officially known as Messier 82, is located about 12 million light-years from Earth. It is an edge-on spiral galaxy that is currently going through an intense period of star formation, believed to have been triggered by a past interaction with another galaxy.
Scientists say this active phase is expected to last only a few hundred million years, making it an important object for research.
Webb Uncovers Millions Of Stars
Using the telescope’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), astronomers spent 65 hours observing the galaxy. Unlike earlier telescopes, Webb’s infrared technology was able to see through the thick dust, revealing nearly 16.5 million individual stars.
Researchers said previous observatories, including the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, could not capture this level of detail because their view was blocked by dust.
Clues To The Galaxy’s Past
The new images also show that the galaxy’s disk is stretched and uneven. Scientists believe this unusual shape is evidence that the galaxy interacted with another galaxy in the past.
Researchers hope these observations will help them understand how the galaxy has changed over billions of years and how its star-forming activity has evolved.
Forming Stars At A Rapid Pace
According to scientists, the Cigar Galaxy is creating new stars at a rate about 10 times faster than the Milky Way. This intense activity is also pushing huge amounts of gas and dust away from the galaxy, creating large outflows above and below its disk.
Researchers said combining data from the James Webb Space Telescope with observations from other missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope, will provide a more complete picture of how galaxies like Messier 82 evolve over time.
