A nearby galaxy, NGC 2283, is ablaze with new stars in a dazzling new image from the James Webb Space Telescope. Located 45 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canis Major, this barred spiral galaxy exhibits a bright central bar of stars encircled by loosely wound, swirling arms featuring star clusters and interstellar gas.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured the tightly-knit groupings of young stars illuminating hydrogen gas that surrounds them, which is the primary fuel source for star formation. Supernovae, powerful stellar explosions, play a crucial role in this process, enriching the star-forming clouds with elements like oxygen and sodium.
NGC 2283 is home to a Type II supernova, a violent explosion marking the end of a massive star’s life. The collapse of its core triggers an explosion of material in the star’s outer layers, leading to new star formation.
The new view of NGC 2283 was created using six images taken by the JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera and Mid-Infrared Instrument over 17 minutes. This data is part of a larger initiative to study connections between stars, gas, and dust in nearby star-forming galaxies.
The galaxy offers insight into the life cycle of gas and stars in galaxies across the universe, with NGC 2283 being one of the 55 galaxies surveyed by Webb for this programme. The telescope’s new image provides an up-close view of NGC 2283, highlighting its spiral arms and dense regions of hot gas and dust, emitting varying colors of red, orange, and yellow based on particle type.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/james-webb-space-telescope/sparkling-galaxy-blazes-with-star-formation-in-new-james-webb-space-telescope-image