Unknown Universe by Dr Mark McCaughrean

Author:Dr Mark McCaughrean [Kerss, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2024-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

NGC 1087

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Janice Lee (STScI), Thomas Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team, Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

NGC 1087 is a Spiral Galaxy about 80 million light-years away. To find out more about this image, see here.

NGC 7496

NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

MIRI: Blue: F770W, Green: F1000W, Green: F1130W, Red: F2100W

This cosmic portrait was captured by MIRI, as part of a programme to study the effects of stars and star clusters in nearby galaxies. Glowing cavities in nebulous regions pockmark the spiral arms where powerful young stars are energising and shaping the gas. The data revealed 60 candidate star clusters not previously known to astronomers, which are thought to contain the most recently formed star systems in the galaxy.

The lanes of chemically rich dust that trace out the spiral arms contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, whose signatures are detectable in the infrared. These complex organic molecules are crucial to the formation of new planets.

The core of NGC 7496 is home to a supermassive black hole, which is feeding on the surrounding material, creating a bright, active galactic nucleus (AGN). It emits high energy jets, and shines brilliantly enough to form diffraction spikes on MIRI’s detector, despite being 24 million light-years away.

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