A team of researchers has peered inside distant spiral galaxies for the first time. The goal is to study how they
“We are studying 19 closest analogues of ourown galaxy and this is an amazing opportunity,” explains Eric Rozolovsky, co-author of the paper analyzing the James Webb data. The telescope's mid-infrared instrument can penetrate dust and gas clouds to provide important information about how stars form in these galaxies and therefore how they evolve.
“This light has a long wavelength and wewe can't see him. Infrared is the key to studying the cold and distant universe,” explains Rozolovsky. So far, the telescope has acquired data on 15 of the 19 galaxies. Rozolovsky and Hamid Hassani, Ph.D., student and lead author of the paper, examined the infrared light emitted by dust grains at different wavelengths to help classify observed objects. For example, they were able to distinguish an ordinary star from massive star-forming complexes and background galaxies.
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Cover photo: NASA/STScI