韦伯望远镜的车轮星系

2022年8月24日

The Cartwheel Galaxy from Webb
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

Explanation: To some, it looks like a wheel of a cart. In fact, because of its outward appearance, the presence of a central galaxy, and its connection with what looks like the spokes of a wheel, the galaxy on the right is known as the Cartwheel Galaxy. To others, however, it looks like a complicated interaction between galaxies awaiting explanation. Along with the two galaxies on the left, the Cartwheel is part of a group of galaxies about 500 million light years away in the constellation Sculptor. The large galaxy’s rim spans over 100,000 light years and is composed of star forming regions filled with extremely bright and massive stars. The Cartwheel’s ring-like shape is the result of gravitational disruption caused by a smaller galaxy passing through a large one, compressing the interstellar gas and dust and causing a star formation wave to move out like a ripple across the surface of a pond. The featured recent image of the Cartwheel Galaxy by the Webb Space Telescope reveals new details not only about where stars are forming, but also about activity near the galaxy’s central black hole.

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韦伯望远镜的车轮星系
影像提供: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

说明: 有些人认为，它形似车轮。因为它的外围有个椭圆框，中心有个星系，而它们之间看似有轮辐相连，所以上面影像右侧的天体有星系车轮星系的雅号。然而，另有其他人认为，它看来像是多个星系间复杂交互作用的产物，因此是个尚待诠释的问题。车轮星系及其左侧的二个星系，都是玉夫座方向约5亿光年远处的一个星系群之成员。这个大星系宽度超过100,000光年的“轮框”，是由拥有极端明亮大质量恒星的恒星形成区所构成。车轮星系的环状结构，源自一个小星系穿过另一个大星系时，因为引力扰动挤压了星际气体和尘埃，造成如同池塘涟漪向外传播般的恒星诞生波。这幅最近由韦伯太空望远镜所拍摄的车轮星系影像，除了呈现出恒星正在形成之处的新细节，也清楚解析出此星系核心黑洞附近的活动。

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明日的图片: open space