File:A FEAST for the eyes (M51 Whirlpool Galaxy) (53151475103).jpg

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Description	Ripple effect 🌀 Seen here is a composite image of galaxy M51 (also known as NGC 5194 also known as the Whirlpool) using both MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) data from the Webb telescope. The gravity of M51's neighbor, the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195, is thought to be partially responsible for those prominent and distinct spiral arms! While MIRI brings out the web-like structure of the dust in the galaxy, Webb's NIRCam focuses more on ionized gas from newly formed star clusters — as seen in the bottom left image. These observations are part of the FEAST (Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Star clusTers) program, which aims to discover and study stellar nurseries in galaxies beyond our own Milky Way. Learn more: <a href="https://esawebb.org/images/potm2308a/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">esawebb.org/images/potm2308a/</a> Slide between the two views here: <a href="https://esawebb.org/images/comparisons/potm2308/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">esawebb.org/images/comparisons/potm2308/</a> View just MIRI: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/53150967876/in/photostream/">www.flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/53150967876/in/ph...</a> View just NIRCam: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/53151185919/in/photostream/">www.flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/53151185919/in/ph...</a> Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Adamo and the FEAST JWST team Image description: Composite image combining data from Webb's MIRI and NIRCam instruments. A large spiral galaxy takes up the entirety of the image. The core is mostly bright white, but there are also swirling, detailed structures that resemble water circling a drain. There is white and pale blue light that emanates from stars and dust at the core’s center, but it is tightly limited to the core. The rings feature colors of deep red and orange and highlight filaments of dust around cavernous black bubbles.
Date	29 August 2023, 15:38
Source	A FEAST for the eyes (M51/Whirlpool Galaxy)
Author	NASA's James Webb Space Telescope from Greenbelt, MD, USA

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This image was originally posted to Flickr by James Webb Space Telescope at https://flickr.com/photos/50785054@N03/53151475103. It was reviewed on 28 October 2023 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

28 October 2023

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Source	ESA/Webb
Credit/Provider	ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Adamo (Stockholm University) and the FEAST JWST team
Short title	A FEAST for the Eyes
Image title	The graceful winding arms of the grand-design spiral galaxy M51 stretch across this image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Unlike the menagerie of weird and wonderful spiral galaxies with ragged or disrupted spiral arms, grand-design spiral galaxies boast prominent, well-developed spiral arms like the ones showcased in this image. This galactic portrait is a composite image that integrates data from Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI).In this image the dark red regions trace the filamentary warm dust permeating the medium of the galaxy. The red regions show the reprocessed light from complex molecules forming on dust grains, while colours of orange and yellow reveal the regions of ionised gas by the recently formed star clusters. Stellar feedback has a dramatic effect on the medium of the galaxy and create complex network of bright knots as well as cavernous black bubbles. M51 — also known as NGC 5194 — lies about 27 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici, and is trapped in a tumultuous relationship with its near neighbour, the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195. The interaction between these two galaxies has made these galactic neighbours one of the better-studied galaxy pairs in the night sky. The gravitational influence ofM51’s smaller companion is thought to be partially responsible for the stately nature of the galaxy’s prominent and distinct spiral arms. If you would like to learn more about this squabbling pair of galactic neighbours, you can explore earlier observations of M51 by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope here. This Webb observation of M51 is one of a series of observations collectively titled Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Star clusTers, or FEAST. The FEAST observations were designed to shed light on the interplay between stellar feedback and star formation in environments outside ofour own galaxy, the Milky Way. Stellar feedback is the term used to describe the outpouring of energy from stars into the environments which form them, and is a crucial process in determining the rates at which stars form. Understanding stellar feedback is vital to building accurate universal modelsof star formation. The aim of the FEAST observations is to discover and study stellar nurseries in galaxies beyond our own Milky Way. Before Webb became operative, other observatories such as the Atacama Large Millimetre Array in the Chilean desert and Hubble have given us a glimpse of star formation either at the onset (tracing the dense gas and dust clouds where stars will form) or after the stars have destroyed with their energy their natal gas and dust clouds. Webb is opening a new window into the early stages of star formation and stellar light, as well as the energy reprocessing of gasand dust. Scientists are seeing star clusters emerging from their natal cloud in galaxies beyond our local group for the first time. They will also be able to measure how long in takes for these stars to pollute with newly formed metals and to clean out the gas (these time scales are different fromgalaxy to galaxy). By studying these processes, we will better understand how the star formation cycle and metal enrichment is regulated within galaxies as well as what are the time scales for planets and brown dwarfs to form. Once dust and gas is removed from the newly formed stars, there is no material left to form planets. [Image Description: A large spiral galaxy takes up the entirety of the image. The core is mostly bright white, but there are also swirling, detailed structures that resemble water circling a drain. There is white and pale blue light that emanates from stars and dust at the core’s centre, but it is tightly limited to the core. The rings feature colours of deep red and orange and highlight filaments of dust around cavernous black bubbles.] Links M51 (NIRCam image) M51 (MIRI image) Slider tool (NIRCam and MIRI image)
Usage terms	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Date and time of data generation	10:00, 29 August 2023
JPEG file comment	The graceful winding arms of the grand-design spiral galaxy M51 stretch across this image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Unlike the menagerie of weird and wonderful spiral galaxies with ragged or disrupted spiral arms, grand-design spiral galaxies boast prominent, well-developed spiral arms like the ones showcased in this image. This galactic portrait is a composite image that integrates data from Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI).In this image the dark red regions trace the filamentary warm dust permeating the medium of the galaxy. The red regions show the reprocessed light from complex molecules forming on dust grains, while colours of orange and yellow reveal the regions of ionised gas by the recently formed star clusters. Stellar feedback has a dramatic effect on the medium of the galaxy and create complex network of bright knots as well as cavernous black bubbles. M51 — also known as NGC 5194 — lies about 27 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici, and is trapped in a tumultuous relationship with its near neighbour, the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195. The interaction between these two galaxies has made these galactic neighbours one of the better-studied galaxy pairs in the night sky. The gravitational influence of M51’s smaller companion is thought to be partially responsible for the stately nature of the galaxy’s prominent and distinct spiral arms. If you would like to learn more about this squabbling pair of galactic neighbours, you can explore earlier observations of M51 by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope here. This Webb observation of M51 is one of a series of observations collectively titled Feedback in Emerging extrAgalactic Star clusTers, or FEAST. The FEAST observations were designed to shed light on the interplay between stellar feedback and star formation in environments outside of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Stellar feedback is the term used to describe the outpouring of energy from stars into the environments which form them, and is a crucial process in determining the rates at which stars form. Understanding stellar feedback is vital to building accurate universal models of star formation. The aim of the FEAST observations is to discover and study stellar nurseries in galaxies beyond our own Milky Way. Before Webb became operative, other observatories such as the Atacama Large Millimetre Array in the Chilean desert and Hubble have given us a glimpse of star formation either at the onset (tracing the dense gas and dust clouds where stars will form) or after the stars have destroyed with their energy their natal gas and dust clouds. Webb is opening a new window into the early stages of star formation and stellar light, as well as the energy reprocessing of gas and dust. Scientists are seeing star clusters emerging from their natal cloud in galaxies beyond our local group for the first time. They will also be able to measure how long in takes for these stars to pollute with newly formed metals and to clean out the gas (these time scales are different from galaxy to galaxy). By studying these processes, we will better understand how the star formation cycle and metal enrichment is regulated within galaxies as well as what are the time scales for planets and brown dwarfs to form. Once dust and gas is removed from the newly formed stars, there is no material left to form planets. [Image Description: A large spiral galaxy takes up the entirety of the image. The core is mostly bright white, but there are also swirling, detailed structures that resemble water circling a drain. There is white and pale blue light that emanates from stars and dust at the core’s centre, but it is tightly limited to the core. The rings feature colours of deep red and orange and highlight filaments of dust around cavernous black bubbles.] Links M51 (NIRCam image) M51 (MIRI image) Slider tool (NIRCam and MIRI image)
Software used	Adobe Photoshop 24.4 (Windows)
Date and time of digitizing	20:03, 4 August 2023
File change date and time	18:11, 22 August 2023
Date metadata was last modified	18:11, 22 August 2023
Unique ID of original document	xmp.did:4d3b327f-cd01-594c-9f54-412599f0d4fa
Contact information	https://esawebb.org ESA Office, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr Baltimore, MD, 21218 United States

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