Four of NASA's newest observatory's initial science-quality photographs have benefited from X-ray vision. The photographs released by the James Webb Space Observatory (JWST) this summer became instantly iconic, but a new collaboration with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals that, despite being the most powerful space telescope ever built, JWST isn't going to study the cosmos in isolation. In fact, it may be most useful when used in conjunction with other instruments. Because JWST is meant to study the universe in the infrared, its work is improved when paired with devices that observe space in multiple wavelengths of light, such as Chandra's X-ray vision. According to a NASA announcement, the first photos upgraded with Chandra X-ray data reveal additional characteristics that were not seen with JWST alone.
 | |
| Stephan's Quintet of galaxies as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; IR (Spitzer): NASA/JPL-Caltech; IR (Webb): NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI) |
Consider the picture of Stephan's Quintet, in which four galaxies are involved in a complicated gravitational dance as a fifth galaxy watches from afar. The JWST view of these galaxies revealed previously unseen characteristics, like gas tails and bursts of intensive star formation caused by their interactions. When paired with data from Chandra and NASA's departed Spitzer Space Telescope, Stephan's Quintet observations showed a previously unknown shock wave heating gas to tens of millions of degrees on any scale. This shock wave is caused by one of the galaxies weaving at roughly 2 million mph across the others (3 million kph).
 | |
| The Cartwheel Galaxy as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; IR (Spitzer): NASA/JPL-Caltech; IR (Webb): NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI) |
Cosmic collisions are also important in the distant Cartwheel galaxy, which JWST studied. When this galaxy collided with a smaller galaxy 100 million years ago, it formed its distinctive shape. As the smaller galaxy blasted through the Cartwheel galaxy's heart, it triggered a burst of tremendous star creation. In the Cartwheel galaxy, Chandra observations reveal X-rays released by superheated plasma and individual destroyed stars, as well as neutron stars and black holes avidly feasting on material ripped from partner stars.
 |
| The galaxy cluster SMACS J0723 as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; IR (Spitzer): NASA/JPL-Caltech; IR (Webb): NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI) |
The first image taken by JWST was of a galaxy cluster named SMACS J0723, which is situated 4.2 billion light-years distant from Earth. The inclusion of Chandra's measurements in this results in gas heated to tens of millions of degrees on any scale. SMACS J0723 clusters are home to hundreds of galaxies as well as massive reserves of superheated gas. Scientists estimate that the gas discovered by the JWST and Chandra collaboration has a mass 100 trillion times that of the sun. That is multiple times the combined mass of all the stars in the cluster.
(However, there is still plenty to be seen.) Dark matter makes up more mass in this cluster than gas, but since it does not interact with light, it is invisible even to the combined power of the JWST and Chandra.)
 | |
| The Cosmic Cliffs of the Carina Nebula as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; IR (Spitzer): NASA/JPL-Caltech; IR (Webb): NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI) |
The Cosmic Cliffs of the Carina Nebula near the edge of the star-forming area of NGC 3324, undoubtedly the most magnificent image in the initial collection of JWST photographs, completes the quartet of new images. The Chandra image of these cliffs, which are around 7,600 light-years from Earth, displays more than a dozen X-ray sources, the bulk of which are stars in the Carina Nebula's outer area. These stars are between one and two million years old, which makes them quite young in cosmic standards. Young stars like this one emit more X-rays than their older counterparts. Chandra's data is especially useful in distinguishing newborn stars in the Carina Nebula from older Milky Way stars that may be hiding in JWST's field of sight.
A diffuse X-ray emission from the region's most massive and hottest stars, which are just beyond the image's field of view, is also seen in the upper half of the Chandra-enhanced image of the Carina Nebula. JWST will collaborate with other space-based instruments like Chandra, as well as telescopes on Earth, during its working lifespan, which is expected to be five years but might be more like twenty. The new photographs demonstrate how vital this cooperation will be to astronomy in the coming years.
0 Comments