The Webb Telescope Has Successfully Penetrated the Nucleus of a Neighboring Galaxy, Which Is Home to a Fiercely Active Black Hole

Messier 106 is the mesmerizing neighbor we can’t stop observing from our window. Situated 23 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici, this spiral galaxy is one of the brightest and closest to our planet. It’s more active than our own Milky Way. What’s new is that now, in addition to through a window, we can observe it with a very powerful telescope.

Also known as NGC 4258, Messier 106 harbors a supermassive black hole at its core, which is still actively consuming large amounts of material, unlike the Sagittarius A* black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The latest image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope provides a glimpse of this radiant, energy-filled core.

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The Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam camera is sensitive in the infrared and thanks to that, it can capture a clear image of the activity at the center of Messier 106. The black hole’s devouring and ejecting of material creates intense radiation and gas structures, resembling a wave crashing against a rock on the seashore.

By using infrared instead of visible light, Webb’s main instrument can effectively penetrate the galaxy’s densest and darkest regions, allowing for a sharp image of its core to be captured. The galaxy’s “luminous arms” contain stars in formation, while its “invisible arms” consist of hot gas that can only be observed at radio and X-ray wavelengths.

The different colors in the image have specific meanings and help us understand the different temperatures and compositions of the dust. Blue areas indicate stellar dust, orange areas indicate hotter dust, and deep red tones correspond to cooler dust. As you move closer to the center of the galaxy, the colors shift to green and yellow due to the variety of heated gases falling into the black hole.

Additionally, experts believe the material ejected by the supermassive black hole shapes the spiral arms of the galaxy. These images from the Webb telescope help astronomers better understand star formation, the behavior of supermassive black holes, and the origins and development of galaxies.

This article was written by Matías S. Zavia and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Image | NASA | ESA | CSA

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