Skip to main content

X-ray data from Chandra gives a new view of Webb’s first images

This week has been a fun time for telescope team-ups, with a recent project combining data from the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes. There’s also a second set of images that has been released that combines data from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

The Chandra observatory, which is also a space-based telescope, looks in the X-ray wavelength to investigate phenomena like epic kilonova explosions, search for the universe’s missing matter, and capture stunning images of the universe as seen in X-ray observations. It has even been used to detect a possible exoplanet in the Whirlpool galaxy. Now, it has turned its sights on the targets of James Webb’s first images to show these now-famous objects in a new light.

X-rays from Chandra have been combined with infrared data from early publicly-released James Webb Space Telescope images.
X-rays from Chandra have been combined with infrared data from early publicly-released James Webb Space Telescope images. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; IR (Spitzer): NASA/JPL-Caltech; IR (Webb): NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

Clockwise from top left, these images show Stephan’s Quintet, the Cartwheel Galaxy, the Carine Nebula, and the first Webb deep field. The Chandra X-ray data has been added to the original images in shades of blue and purple, picking out the X-rays being given off by things like extremely hot gas, bright young stars, or by black holes or neutron stars which are feeding on nearby sources of matter.

Recommended Videos

Compared to Webb’s infrared view, Chandra observes even higher energy X-rays, which are given off by very high energy processes. By looking at both of these wavelengths, astronomers can pick out phenomena which would otherwise be invisible. In Stephan’s Quintet, for example, a group of five close galaxies, the Chandra data revealed a shockwave caused by two of the galaxies colliding into each other at 2 million miles per hour. This shockwave is heating up gas to tens of millions of degrees. In the Carina Nebula image, the X-rays shown in purple pick out some of the hottest and most massive young stars.

These images show that, as powerful as Webb is alone, it is becomes even more so when used along with other tools. “[Webb] is designed to work in concert with NASA’s many other telescopes as well as facilities both in space and on the ground,” NASA said. “These new versions of Webb’s first images combine its infrared data with X-rays collected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, underscoring how the power of any of these telescopes is only enhanced when joined with others.”

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
Creepy cosmic eyes stare out from space in Webb and Hubble image
The gruesome palette of these galaxies is owed to a mix of mid-infrared light from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, and visible and ultraviolet light from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The pair grazed one another millions of years ago. The smaller spiral on the left, catalogued as IC 2163, passed behind NGC 2207, the larger spiral galaxy at right. Both have increased star formation rates. Combined, they are estimated to form the equivalent of two dozen new stars that are the size of the Sun annually. Our Milky Way galaxy forms the equivalent of two or three new Sun-like stars per year. Both galaxies have hosted seven known supernovae, each of which may have cleared space in their arms, rearranging gas and dust that later cooled, and allowed many new stars to form. (Find these areas by looking for the bluest regions).

These sinister eyes gazing out from the depths of space star in a new Halloween-themed image, using data from both the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. It shows a pair of galaxies, IC 2163 on the left and NGC 2207 on the right, which are creeping closer together and interacting to form a creepy-looking face.

The two galaxies aren't colliding directly into one another, as one is passing in front of the other, but they have passed close enough to light scrape by each other and leave indications. If you look closely at the galaxy on the left, you can see how its spiral arms have been pulled out into an elongated shape, likely because of its close pass to the gravity of the other nearby galaxy. The lines of bright red around the "eyes" are created by shock fronts, with material from each galaxy slamming together.

Read more
James Webb discovers a new type of exoplanet: an exotic ‘steam world’
An artist’s conception of the “steam world” GJ 9827 d, shown in the foreground in blue.

Our solar system has a wide variety of planet types, from tiny rocky Mercury to huge puffy gas giant Jupiter to distant ice giant Uranus. But beyond our own system, there are even more types of exoplanet out there, including water worlds covered in ocean and where life could potentially thrive. Now, researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified a new and exotic type of planet called a steam world, which has an atmosphere almost entirely composed of water vapor.

The planet, called GJ 9827 d, was examined by the Hubble Space Telescope earlier this year and had researchers so intrigued that they wanted to go back for a closer look using Webb. They found that the planet, which is around twice the size of Earth, had a very different atmosphere from the typical hydrogen and helium that is usually seen. Instead, it was full of hot steam.

Read more
James Webb image shows two galaxies in the process of colliding
This composite image of Arp 107, created with data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-InfraRed Camera) and MIRI (Mid-InfraRed Instrument), reveals a wealth of information about the star formation taking place in these two galaxies and how they collided hundreds of million years ago. The near-infrared data, shown in white, show older stars, which shine brightly in both galaxies, as well as the tenuous gas bridge that runs between them. The vibrant background galaxies are also brightly illuminated at these wavelengths.

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows one of the universe's most dramatic events: the colliding of two galaxies. The pair, known as Arp 107, are located located 465 million light-years away and have been pulled into strange shapes by the gravitational forces of the interaction, but this isn't a purely destructive process. The collision is also creating new stars as young stars are born in swirling clouds of dust and gas.

The image above is a composite, bringing together data from Webb's NIRCam (Near-InfraRed Camera) and MIRI (Mid-InfraRed Instrument). These two instruments operate in different parts of the infrared, so they can pick up on different processes. The data collected in the near-infrared range is seen in white, highlighting older stars and the band of gas running between the two galaxies. The mid-infrared data is shown in orange and red, highlighting busy regions of star formation, with bright young stars putting out large amounts of radiation.

Read more