For those who’ve ever wished you had X-ray vision, NASA has some photos for you.
NASA has released 4 composite images using data from several of its most advanced telescopes to depict our universe in numerous wavelengths of sunshine, including data collected by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Hubble Space Telescope.
The images, which show two galaxies, a star cluster, and a nebula, are rendered in dazzling colours representing X-ray and infrared radiation, in addition to optical light.
Related: James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — An entire guide
The 2 galaxies pictured are called NGC 1672 and M74. Categorized as a barred spiral galaxy for its straight, “barred” arms of stars near its center, NGC 1672 is a galaxy about 60 million light-years from Earth. The brand new composite image shows several areas, especially in its outer arms, emitting intense X-ray radiation, shown in purple. In response to NASA, these areas represent super-dense objects, similar to neutron stars and black holes, which are pulling material into the galaxy.
M74 is a spiral galaxy like our own galactic home the Milky Way, situated about 32 million light-years away from us. Also called the Phantom Galaxy since it is visibly very dim, the galaxy has an intricate lacey structure revealed by JWST. Now, data from Chandra notes multiple sources of X-ray radiation, including young stars, dotting the spiral.
One other image shows M16, also called The Eagle Nebula, which is about 6,500 light years away. The image shows the nebula’s famous “Pillars of Creation,” dramatic clouds of dust and gas containing young stars, essentially the most intense of that are highlighted in sensible pinks and purples to point out the powerful X-rays they emit. The image highlights the finding that almost all of those young, X-ray-emitting stars are actually outside the pillars, with only a couple of young stars emitting this intense radiation from throughout the clouds.
The image with essentially the most notable contribution by Chandra may be of NGC 346, a star cluster within the Small Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy 200,000 light-years from Earth. A vivid purple splotch on the left side of the image highlights the remnants of a supernova explosion, the spectacular death of an enormous star.
Read more: This latest supernova is the closest to Earth in a decade. It’s visible within the night sky immediately.
The NGC 346 cluster can be speckled with purple-white blotches of X-rays emitted from young, massive stars. This image is exclusive among the many 4, because it accommodates data from not only Chandra, Webb, and Hubble, but additionally the European Southern Observatory’s Latest Technology telescope, the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton telescope, and NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope.
Yow will discover all of the photos, including the photos combined to make the composite images and 3D-printable tactile plates of every image, on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory’s website.