JudySchmidt is an astronomer. SpaceGeck is at it again. She released an image of the Great Barred SpiralGalaxy. The most- detailed look at the double-barred spiral galaxy to date was achieved by the James Webb Space Telescope. A series of images provided a closer look at the core region, a widefield view that shows the long arms of the galaxy, and an animation that shows the galaxy in near- and mid-infrared wavelength.
At Universe Today, we pointed out that NGC 1365 is twice the size of the Milky Way. The central bar and wide arms give it a Z-like appearance, and large dust clouds obscure its interior structure. It was selected for the observations because it was able to observe the interior in greater detail thanks to its advanced instruments.
The first image shows a close-up of the center of NGC 1365 based on data obtained by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCAM). A dense star-forming region that looks like a halo extends east and west of the center and is surrounded by a black hole.
The second image shows the wide arms extending from the central bar, which was captured in the first image. The data obtained by NIRCAM allows the star forming regions in the arms to stand out from the gas and dust surrounding them. The data from the NIRCAM andMIRI were combined to create the animation.
The near-IR shows the stars and some dust, while the mid-IR shows only dust.
We can see a glimpse of the kinds of operations it will perform in the rendering. The clearest and most detailed images of the universe will be provided by the most complex and advanced observatory ever launched. There will be new insights and discoveries, ranging from discovering new bodies here at home and exoplanet characterization to how the earliest galaxies formed and evolved.
More of her work can be found on her website.
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