ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Space

Webb and Hubble team up to illuminate the Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster — one of the most colorful corners of the universe

Teamwork really does make the dream work.

Jordan StricklerbyJordan Strickler
November 14, 2023
in News, Space
A A
Edited and reviewed by Tibi Puiu
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit
The telescope pair revealed a vivid landscape of galaxies whose colors give clues to galaxy distances.
The telescope pair revealed a vivid landscape of galaxies whose colors give clues to galaxy distances. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Diego (Instituto de Física de Cantabria, Spain), J. D’Silva (U. Western Australia), A. Koekemoer (STScI), J. Summers & R. Windhorst (ASU), and H. Yan (U. Missouri).

The Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) recently collaborated to investigate the galaxy cluster MACS0416. The duo came away with a pretty picture of it too. Approximately 4.3 billion light-years separate the cluster from Earth. This telescope partnership produced a remarkable panchromatic image that combines visible and infrared light, providing one of the most thorough views of the Universe to date.

MACS0416 is a pair of colliding galaxy clusters. These clusters will eventually combine to form a single, more significant entity. The telescopes’ final image is incredibly detailed, showcasing features that would have been impossible to render by either telescope alone. It has several galaxies beyond the cluster and a range of sources that appear to shift with time, most likely due to gravitational lensing, a phenomenon that distorts and magnifies light from far-off sources.

Initially, this cluster was investigated as part of the 2014-launched Hubble’s Frontier Fields mission. The aim was to uncover some of the faintest and youngest galaxies ever detected. With its infrared capabilities, JWST’s contribution significantly enhanced this exploration, allowing a deeper view into the early Universe.

“We are building on Hubble’s legacy by pushing to greater distances and fainter objects,” said Arizona State University’s Rogier Windhorst, principal investigator of the PEARLS program (Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science), which took the Webb observations.

The image’s color coding isn’t just a pretty picture, but also scientifically informative. The shortest wavelengths of light are depicted as blue, the longest as red, and intermediate wavelengths as green. This broad spectrum, ranging from 0.4 to 5 microns, paints a vivid interstellar wall hanging.

The coloration also hints at the distances of the galaxies. Blue galaxies are generally closer and often show intense star formation and were observed by Hubble. The redder ones, often more distant, are typically picked up by Webb. Cosmic dust in some galaxies also absorbs the bluer colors of starlight, making them appear redder.

This side-by-side comparison of galaxy cluster MACS0416 as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in optical light (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light (right).
This side-by-side comparison of galaxy cluster MACS0416 as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in optical light (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light (right). Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Dubbed the “Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster” because of its colorful appearance and internal flickering lights, MACS0416 has proven to be a rich source of discoveries. Researchers observed multiple observation periods in a joint study looking for objects whose brightness changed over time. Of these, they discovered 14 transients. Twelve showed strong gravitational lensing magnification, presumably corresponding to single or multiple-star systems. The researchers assume that the other two transients are supernovae.

RelatedPosts

The James Webb telescope could detect aliens by looking for signs of pollution
James Webb spots ‘baby’ quasars from cosmic dark ages, rewriting story of black holes
Stunning Horsehead nebula imaged in infrared
Nearby Super-Earth could be perfect for atmospheric investigation

One particularly noteworthy transient is a star system in a galaxy that existed roughly three billion years after the Big Bang and magnified at least 4,000 times. Appropriated as “Mothra,” it comes after another previously recognized star dubbed “Godzilla,” a variable star in the Sunburst galaxy. Inspired by the monsters of Japanese movies, both titles are a tribute to their extraordinary brightness and magnification.

Mothra was also discernible in images made by Hubble nine years prior, which the researchers found interesting. A very specific alignment between the foreground galaxy cluster and the background star is needed to magnify a star so greatly. The mutual motions of the star and the cluster should have eventually eliminated that alignment. Scientists believe it could be a globular star cluster but aren’t precisely sure.

“The most likely explanation is a globular star cluster that’s too faint for Webb to see directly,” stated Jose Diego of the Instituto de Física de Cantabria in Spain, lead author of the paper detailing the finding. “But we don’t know the true nature of this additional lens yet.”

The most likely explanation is that there is an additional object within the foreground cluster that is adding more magnification. The team was able to constrain its mass to be between 10,000 and 1 million times the mass of our Sun.

Results from the investigation on MACS0416 have been described in papers submitted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics and The Astrophysical Journal. The displayed JWST data was acquired as a component of PEARLS GTO program 1176.

Tags: James Webb Space TelescopeJose DiegojwstMACS0416Rogier Windhorst

ShareTweetShare
Jordan Strickler

Jordan Strickler

A space nerd and self-described grammar freak (all his Twitter posts are complete sentences), he loves learning about the unknown and figures that if he isn’t smart enough to send satellites to space, he can at least write about it. Twitter: @JordanS1981

Related Posts

Alien life

Have scientists really found signs of alien life on K2-18b?

byMihai Andrei
2 months ago
JADES-GS-z14-0
News

Astronomers Just Found Oxygen in a Galaxy Born Only 300 Million Years After the Big Bang

byJordan Strickler
3 months ago
Astronomy

Astronomers thought mini-Neptunes had atmospheres with water or hydrogen. This one has neither

byMihai Andrei
5 months ago
Science

James Webb Telescope Uses Cosmic “Magnifying glass” to Detect Stars 6.5 Billion Light-Years Away

byJordan Strickler
5 months ago

Recent news

Meet the Dragon Prince: The Closest Known Ancestor to T-Rex

June 13, 2025

Your Breathing Is Unique and Can Be Used to ID You Like a Fingerprint

June 13, 2025

In the UK, robotic surgery will become the default for small surgeries

June 13, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.