1 min read
Stephan’s Quintet (NIRSpec IFU)
Stephan’s Quintet is a visual grouping of five galaxies located in the constellation Pegasus. Together, they are also known as the Hickson Compact Group 92 (HCG 92). Although called a “quintet,” only four of the galaxies are truly close together and caught up in a cosmic dance. The fifth and leftmost galaxy, called NGC 7320, is well in the foreground compared with the other four.
Tight groups like this may have been more common in the early universe when their superheated, infalling material may have fueled very energetic black holes called quasars. Even today, the topmost galaxy in the group – NGC 7319 – harbors an active galactic nucleus, a supermassive black hole 24 million times the mass of the Sun. It is actively pulling in material and puts out light energy equivalent to 40 billion Suns.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope studied the active galactic nucleus in great detail with the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec). The instrument’s integral field units (IFUs) – a combination of a camera and spectrograph – provided the Webb team with a “data cube,” or collection of images of the galactic core’s spectral features. Using IFUs, scientists can measure spatial structures, determine the velocity of those structures, and get a full range of spectral data. Much like medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the IFUs allow scientists to “slice and dice” the information into many images for detailed study.
NIRSpec’s IFUs pierced through the shroud of dust to measure the bright emission from outflows of hot gas near the active black hole. The instrument saw the gas near the supermassive black hole in wavelengths never detected before, and it was able to determine its composition.
Some of the key emission lines seen by NIRSpec are shown in this image and represent different phases of gas. Atomic hydrogen, in blue and yellow, allows scientists to discover the structure of the outflow. Iron ions, in teal, trace the places where the hot gas is located. Molecular hydrogen, in red, is very cold and dense, and traces both outflowing gas and the reservoir of fuel for the black hole. The bright, active nucleus itself has been removed from these images to better show the structure of the surrounding gas.
By using NIRSpec, scientists have gained unprecedented information about the black hole and its outflow. Studying these relatively nearby galaxies helps scientists better understand galaxy evolution in the much more distant universe.
NIRSpec was built for the European Space Agency (ESA) by a consortium of European companies led by Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center providing its detector and micro-shutter subsystems.
For a full array of Webb’s first images and spectra, including downloadable files, please visit: https://webbtelescope.org/news/first-images
Extended Description and Image Alt Text
Extended Description
Infographic titled “Interacting Galaxies Stephan’s Quintet: Composition of Gas Around Active Black Hole; NIRCam Imaging and MIRI Imaging and NIRSpec IFU Spectroscopy.”
The infographic shows a color image of a group of galaxies and a zoom-in color image to one of those galaxies for reference, and four separate single-color images of a small portion of the center of the zoomed-in galaxy. Each of the four separate images is labeled with the wavelength of light that the image shows and the name of the atom, molecule, or ion that is emitting the light.
Top Left: Reference Images
An oblique view of a NIRCam/MIRI composite image shows a group of galaxies of different shapes on a background of numerous smaller (more distant) galaxies. The galaxy at the top is outlined and zoom-in of the outlined galaxy is pulled-out. The pull-out zoom shows a bright central core with orange spiral arms.
Top Right: Horizontal Stack of Single-Color Images
An oblique view of a rectangular prism is pulled out of the center of the galaxy shown in the pull-out image. The prism is made of four separate single-color images with rectangular outlines stacked horizontally one in front of the other. Because the rectangles are overlapping and at an oblique angle, only a small portion of each image is visible. From left to right (and back to front) the rectangles are blue, cyan, yellow, and red. A color image of the center of the galaxy is on the front of the prism.
Bottom: Images Side-by-Side
The same four rectangular single-colored images with rectangular outlines are arranged side-by-side along the bottom. The view of each image is face on rather than oblique. There is a line connecting each image to its corresponding rectangle in the stack on the upper right. Each single-color image is labeled with the material and the wavelength of light that it shows. From left to right:
- Blue image: Atomic Hydrogen 0.656 microns
- Cyan image: Iron ions 1.64 microns
- Yellow image: Atomic Hydrogen 1.87 micron
- Red image: Molecular Hydrogen 4.7 micron
All four images show an amorphous, cloud-like glow. Some areas are brighter than others. The shapes and brightness patterns are similar, but clearly different from each other.
Image Alt Text
Infographic showing maps of different gases around an active black hole.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.22:35:57.49
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.33:57:36.0
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Pegasus
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.290 million light-years (89 million parsecs)
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.This image was created with Webb data from proposal 2732. It is part of Webb Early Release Observations.
The Early Release Observations and associated materials were developed, executed, and compiled by the ERO production team:
Jaclyn Barrientes, Claire Blome, Hannah Braun, Matthew Brown, Margaret Carruthers, Dan Coe, Joseph DePasquale, Nestor Espinoza, Macarena Garcia Marin, Karl Gordon, Alaina Henry, Leah Hustak, Andi James, Ann Jenkins, Anton Koekemoer, Stephanie LaMassa, David Law, Alexandra Lockwood, Amaya Moro-Martin, Susan Mullally, Alyssa Pagan, Dani Player, Klaus Pontoppidan, Charles Proffitt, Christine Pulliam, Leah Ramsay, Swara Ravindranath, Neill Reid, Massimo Robberto, Elena Sabbi, Leonardo Ubeda.
The EROs were also made possible by the foundational efforts and support from the JWST instruments, STScI planning and scheduling, Data Management teams, and Office of Public Outreach.
- InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.NIRCam, NIRSpec, MIRI
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Stephan’s Quintet, Hickson Compact Group (HCG) 92
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Interacting Galaxy Group
- Release DateJuly 12, 2022
- Science ReleaseNASA’s Webb Sheds Light on Galaxy Evolution, Black Holes
- CreditImage: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Related Images & Videos
Stephan's Quintet (NIRCam and MIRI Composite Image)
An enormous mosaic of Stephan’s Quintet is the largest image to date from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, covering about one-fifth of the Moon’s diameter. It contains over 150 million pixels and is constructed from almost 1,000 separate image files. The visual grouping of...
Stephan's Quintet (MIRI Image)
With its powerful, mid-infrared vision, the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) shows never-before-seen details of Stephan’s Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies. MIRI pierced through dust-enshrouded regions to reveal huge shock waves and tidal tails, gas and stars stripped...
Stephan's Quintet (MIRI Spectra)
Stephan’s Quintet is a visual grouping of five galaxies located in the constellation Pegasus. Together, they are also known as the Hickson Compact Group 92 (HCG 92). Although called a “quintet,” only four of the galaxies are truly close together and caught up in a cosmic dance....
Stephan's Quintet (MIRI IFU)
Stephan’s Quintet is a visual grouping of five galaxies located in the constellation Pegasus. Together, they are also known as the Hickson Compact Group 92 (HCG 92). Although called a “quintet,” only four of the galaxies are truly close together and caught up in a cosmic dance....
Stephan's Quintet (NIRCam and MIRI Composite Compass Image)
Image of Stephan's Quintet, HCG 92, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference. The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the...
Stephan's Quintet (MIRI Compass Image)
Image of Stephan's Quintet, HCG 92, captured by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference. The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east...
Share
Details
Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
