Inbox Astronomy: Hats Off to NASA's Webb: Sombrero Galaxy Dazzles in New Image

INBOX ASTRONOMY

Hats Off to NASA's Webb: Sombrero Galaxy Dazzles in New Image

Release date: Monday, November 25, 2024 10:00:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Powerful mid-infrared instrument resolves clumpy nature of dusty disk

There’s somewhat of an inside joke in the astronomical community that researchers aren’t the best at naming things. For example, the first star observed by Webb is named HD 84406. Not so catchy. Neither is galaxy cluster MACS0416, a deep field imaged by Webb recently.

There are exceptions to this, though. Think the Hourglass Nebula, the Cigar Galaxy, or the Cat’s Paw Nebula. All named for the objects on Earth that they resemble. The Sombrero Galaxy is aptly named for its likeness to the wide-brimmed hat

However, it appears the name is not always accurate, as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s look shows. In the mid-infrared, the 'crown' of the 'hat' is no longer visible, causing the galaxy to take on a much different appearance.

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Find additional articles, images, and videos at WebbTelescope.org

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