If you’re among the numerous folks who are passionate about high-end astronomy, you’d better get ready to embark on a cosmic adventure as NASA unveils a stunning gallery of celestial wonders. By combining images provided by the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers captured galaxies, a nebula, and a star cluster in all their glory.
The new pictures reveal the true colors of the universe, blending X-rays and even infrared light with the optical magic of other telescopes. By feasting your eyes on the new images, you can explore the beauty of the NGC 346 star cluster, the NGC 1672 spiral galaxy, the M16 Eagle Nebula, and the M74 spiral galaxy., as Daily Mail reveals.
You get to witness gas and dust forming stars, the remnants of exploding stars, and young stars shining brightly. It’s like a cosmic art show that takes you into the vastness of space. So sit back, gaze at these breathtaking images, and let your imagination soar among the stars:
I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky…
Webb, @chandraxray, @NASAHubble and other telescopes contributed to these stunning composite images of star cluster NGC 346, spiral galaxies NGC 1672 & M74, and the Pillars of Creation: https://t.co/aNegOMrrDr pic.twitter.com/0IZWW5yLFx
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) May 23, 2023
NASA explained, as Daily Mail quotes:
In regions close to their centers, the arms of barred spiral galaxies are mostly in a straight band of stars across the center that encloses the core, as opposed to other spirals that have arms that twist all the way to their core.
The NGC 346 star cluster is located within the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is situated roughly 200,000 light years away from Earth. It showcases plumes and arcs of gas and dust, serving as raw materials for the birth of stars and planets. The NGC 1672 spiral galaxy, which is characterized as a “barred” spiral by NASA, exhibits a distinct arrangement of stars in a straight band across its center. The M16 Eagle Nebula, which is often referred to as the “Pillars of Creation,” captivates with its striking purple cloud and the formation of new stars. Lastly, the M74 spiral galaxy, located roughly 32 million light years away, enthralls with its face-on orientation and dimly luminous nature.