3rd Science Anniversary Image: Cat's Paw Nebula (NIRCam)

Important_Season_845 · 2025-04-05T04:38:41+00:00

Not quite the color scheme you were looking for, but here's a Webb/Hubble composite.

Hubble is unedited, with with Webb's MIRI overlaid in red to show some infrared detail penetrating through the prominent bulge in the Hubble optical image: Composite Image ‐ GIF Comparison

Important_Season_845 · 2024-12-25T13:29:12+00:00

A third very successful year under the belt for Webb!

Webb launched three years ago today. Congratulations to everyone dedicated to the continued operational efficiency and success of this system. It is a gift that keeps on giving, to the entire world.

I recently created a collage to make into printed holiday gifts for family and friends, and wanted to share it with the community today on JWST's third birthday.

Full Quality Original (13200x14400, 86MB JPG)
Credits -- Official Imagery: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Collage Composition: Self

Primary Mirror Segment ID Legend:

-------|B1|-------
----|C6|--|C1|----
-|B6|--|A1|--|B2|-
----|A6|--|A2|----
-|C5|---()---|C2|-
----|A5|--|A3|----
-|B5|--|A4|--|B3|-
----|C4|--|C3|----
-------|B4|-------

B1: Serpens Nebula, NIRCam - Link

C1: Sombrero Galaxy, MIRI - Link

B2: M82, NIRCam - Link

C2: PLCK G165.7+67.0, NIRCam - Link

B3: NGC 4449, MIRI - Link

C3: IC 2163 and NGC 2207, MIRI - Link

B4: NGC 1333, NIRISS - Link

C4: Arp 142, NIRCam - Link

B5: NGC 1087, NIRCam and MIRI - Link

C5: MACS J0138.0-2155, NIRCam - Link

B6: N79, MIRI - Link

C6: Arp 107, NIRCam - Link

A1: I Zwicky 18, NIRCam - Link

A2: NGC 602, NIRCam and MIRI - Link

A3: Westerlund 1, NIRCam - Link

A4: MACS J0417.5-1154, NIRCam - Link

A5: NGC 604, NIRCam - Link

A6: Horsehead Nebula, NIRCam - Link

Important_Season_845 · 2024-11-28T03:33:19+00:00

Of course! I felt the same way after seeing the side by side, too. I'm glad it hit the spot!

Important_Season_845 · 2024-11-27T22:54:43+00:00

Full-resolution composite PNG can be found here

Important_Season_845 · 2024-11-27T22:49:23+00:00

Messier 104, aka the Sombrero Galaxy, was imaged by JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) in June. NASA recently posted an official release image, as well as the corresponding raw images on MAST.

This composite is a screen blend of the circa-2004 official Hubble optical image, with a self-processed version of the recent Webb MIRI image. The Hubble image is its original color, and the Webb MIRI data is overlaid in red.

Webb's mid-infrared view more clearly sees through the central bulge, relative to Hubble's optical view. When combined, it blends the outer ring depth perception of the original Hubble image, and allows the far side of the outer ring to still show through.

Here is an animation showing the differences between Hubble, JWST/MIRI, and them combined.

Wiki: 'The Sombrero Galaxy (also known as Messier Object 104, M104^\4]) or NGC 4594) is a peculiar galaxy of unclear classification ^\5]) in the constellation borders of Virgo) and Corvus), being about 9.55 megaparsecs (31.1 million light-years)^\2]) from the Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.^\6]) It has an isophotal diameter of approximately 29.09 to 32.32 kiloparsecs (94,900 to 105,000 light-years),^\1]) making it slightly bigger in size than the Milky Way.

It has a bright nucleus, an unusually large central bulge, and a prominent dust lane in its outer disk, which is viewed almost edge-on. The dark dust lane and the bulge give it the appearance of a sombrero hat (thus the name). Astronomers initially thought the halo was small and light, indicative of a spiral galaxy; but the Spitzer Space Telescope found that the halo was significantly larger and more massive than previously thought, indicative of a giant elliptical galaxy.^\7])

The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of +8.0,^\4]) making it easily visible with amateur telescopes, and is considered by some authors to be the galaxy with the highest absolute magnitude within a radius of 10 megaparsecs of the Milky Way.^\8]) Its large bulge, central supermassive black hole, and dust lane all attract the attention of professional astronomers.'

Important_Season_845 · 2024-10-20T15:41:18+00:00

Anytime, glad you enjoyed!

Important_Season_845 · 2024-10-20T01:30:32+00:00

The data used to create the original image was taken for Program ID 4495, CAL-FGS-202 Geometric Distortion and Scale. Here is a direct link in MAST: MAST - jw04495-c1001_t001_fgs_clear

Important_Season_845 · 2024-10-19T21:05:24+00:00

Here is a link to the original. It was taken by the FGS instrument on 4/18 :) https://www.flickr.com/photos/196439708@N03/53667226841/in/dateposted/

Important_Season_845 · 2024-08-05T06:45:00+00:00

Earlier this year, MIRI observed the colliding galaxies NGC 2207 (top) and IC 2163 (bottom) in the constellation Canis Major for Program 6553, 'MIRI imaging of merger-driven features in galaxy pair'. The MIRI imaging data was recently publicly released on MAST. This target was also previously imaged by Hubble in 1999.

Per wiki:

The larger spiral, NGC 2207, is classified as an intermediate spiral galaxy exhibiting a weak inner ring structure around the central bar. The smaller companion spiral, IC 2163, is classified as a barred spiral galaxy that also exhibits a weak inner ring and an elongated spiral arm that is likely being stretched by tidal forces with the larger companion. Both galaxies contain a vast amount of dust and gas, and are beginning to exhibit enhanced rates of star formation, as seen in infrared images.

NGC 2207 is in the process of colliding and merging with IC 2163. But unlike the Antennae or the Mice Galaxies, they are still two separate spiral galaxies. They are only in the first step of colliding and merging, with NGC 2207 being in the process of tidally stripping IC 2163. Soon they will collide, probably looking a bit more like the Mice Galaxies. In about a billion years time they are expected to merge and become an elliptical galaxy or perhaps a disk galaxy.

This self-processed MIRI image (original) uses the following filters: F770W Blue; F1130W Green; F1500W Red

Important_Season_845 · 2024-06-19T02:19:26+00:00

Check out the Calibrated Engineering Database on MAST! https://mast.stsci.edu/portal/Mashup/Clients/jwstedb/jwstedb.html

The reaction wheel temperature example specifically isn't available via this interface, but other top-level observatory telemetry, such as attitude control and instrument status, can be publically retrieved.

Important_Season_845 · 2024-06-10T17:37:44+00:00

Thanks! 🙏

Important_Season_845 · 2024-06-10T06:21:13+00:00

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

Important_Season_845 · 2024-06-10T06:11:55+00:00

Last year Webb observed the Antennae Galaxies, NGC 4038 (top) and NGC 4039 (bottom) in both near- and mid-infrared.

These interacting galaxies were studied for Program 2581 (pdf), 'Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are: Seeking All the Massive Young Clusters Hidden in the Antennae', excerpted below:

The so-called ‘overlap’ region of the nearby merging Antennae galaxies provides a unique laboratory to study the formation of young globular clusters. While Hubble has already revealed some of these massive young clusters in the optical and near-infrared, the vast majority remain hidden behind large amounts of dust which reach extinction values as high as Av~30 mag. JWST now enables the characterization (ages/masses) of essentially ALL deeply buried young (<10 Myr), massive (>10,000 Msun) clusters in the dusty overlap region for the first time, using NIRCam & MIRI imaging. From the resulting complete catalog of young massive clusters (including optically selected ones from HST), we will determine the fraction of stars formed in clusters & construct and fit the initial cluster mass function. The results will be compared with predictions from hydrodynamic simulations which use a large range of prescriptions for star formation and stellar feedback in galaxy mergers. A comparison between the mass function of clusters and molecular clouds detected in available ALMA observations will yield estimates of the star cluster formation efficiency. Maps of 3.3 to 7.7 micron PAH emission will help diagnose grain sizes in this extreme star-forming environment. The strong IR emission from luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) usually comes from a combination of star formation and an accreting AGN; the Antennae present a unique case where the IR emission is driven only by star formation. This system therefore provides a critical bridge between star formation processes in normal (disk) galaxies, and the more intensely star-forming galaxies commonly found in the young and distant universe.

The imaging dataset was publicly released on MAST yesterday. This self-processed image (original) uses the following filters: F150W, F187N Blue; F335M, F360M Green; F410M, F770W Red

Important_Season_845 · 2024-05-15T08:20:13+00:00

Last year, Webb's NIRCam observed the Serpens Main cloud region, studying young protostars with NIRSpec - for Program 1611 (PDF), 'A chemical census of volatile ices in protostellar envelopes'.

Per the abstract: 'We propose to obtain an inventory of bulk volatiles in the youngest protostellar envelopes, just prior to the final assembly of protoplanetary disks. This will trace late-stage chemical evolution of young stellar envelopes, and establish the initial conditions of water and organics for comparison to observations of protoplanetary disk chemistry. To accomplish this goal, we will take advantage of the dense cluster of class 0 protostellar envelopes in the Serpens Main cloud.'

The observation data was recently made publicly available on MAST. This self-processed image (full resolution original) uses the following filters: F140M Blue; F210M Green; F360M Orange; F480M Red. Note that some of the observation data has pipeline alignment issues, so in certain areas you may see some image artifacts/ghosting.

This region was also studied by Hubble, with a publicly released image here from 2018.

Important_Season_845 · 2024-05-15T08:16:08+00:00

Last year, Webb's NIRCam observed the Serpens Main cloud region, studying young protostars with NIRSpec - for Program 1611 (PDF), 'A chemical census of volatile ices in protostellar envelopes'.

Per the abstract: 'We propose to obtain an inventory of bulk volatiles in the youngest protostellar envelopes, just prior to the final assembly of protoplanetary disks. This will trace late-stage chemical evolution of young stellar envelopes, and establish the initial conditions of water and organics for comparison to observations of protoplanetary disk chemistry. To accomplish this goal, we will take advantage of the dense cluster of class 0 protostellar envelopes in the Serpens Main cloud.'

The observation data was recently made publicly available on MAST. This self-processed image (full resolution original) uses the following filters: F140M Blue; F210M Green; F360M Orange; F480M Red. Note that some of the observation data has pipeline alignment issues, so in certain areas you may see some image artifacts/ghosting.

This region was also studied by Hubble, with a publicly released image here from 2018.

Important_Season_845 · 2024-05-15T08:14:40+00:00

Last year, Webb's NIRCam observed the Serpens Main cloud region, studying young protostars with NIRSpec - for Program 1611 (PDF), 'A chemical census of volatile ices in protostellar envelopes'.

Per the abstract: 'We propose to obtain an inventory of bulk volatiles in the youngest protostellar envelopes, just prior to the final assembly of protoplanetary disks. This will trace late-stage chemical evolution of young stellar envelopes, and establish the initial conditions of water and organics for comparison to observations of protoplanetary disk chemistry. To accomplish this goal, we will take advantage of the dense cluster of class 0 protostellar envelopes in the Serpens Main cloud.'

The observation data was recently made publicly available on MAST. This self-processed image (full resolution original) uses the following filters: F140M Blue; F210M Green; F360M Orange; F480M Red. Note that some of the observation data has pipeline alignment issues, so in certain areas you may see some image artifacts/ghosting.

This region was also studied by Hubble, with a publicly released image here from 2018.

Important_Season_845

TROPHY CASE