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Hats Off to NASA's Webb: Sombrero Galaxy Dazzles in New Image

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November 25, 2024 10:00AM (EST)Release ID: 2024-137
Image of a galaxy on the black background of space. The galaxy is a very oblong, blue disk that extends from left to right at an angle (from about 10 o’clock to 5 o’clock). The galaxy has a small bright core at the center. There is an inner disk that is clearer, with speckles of stars scattered throughout. The outer disk of the galaxy is whiteish-blue, and clumpy, like clouds in the sky. There are different colored dots, distant galaxies, speckled among the black background of space surrounding the galaxy.

Summary

Powerful mid-infrared instrument resolves clumpy nature of dusty disk

There’s somewhat of an inside joke in the astronomical community that researchers aren’t the best at naming things. For example, the first star observed by Webb is named HD 84406. Not so catchy. Neither is galaxy cluster MACS0416, a deep field imaged by Webb recently.

There are exceptions to this, though. Think the Hourglass Nebula, the Cigar Galaxy, or the Cat’s Paw Nebula. All named for the objects on Earth that they resemble. The Sombrero Galaxy is aptly named for its likeness to the wide-brimmed hat.

However, it appears the name is not always accurate, as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s look shows. In the mid-infrared, the 'crown' of the 'hat' is no longer visible, causing the galaxy to take on a much different appearance.

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Visit NASA Science to view the full news release including article text and associated Webb imagery, graphics, scientific visualizations, videos, captions, text descriptions, and other information.

News releases highlighting the discoveries of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are produced for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, under NASA Contract NAS5-03127. News release content is developed by the News Team in STScI’s Office of Public Outreach.

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