According to Sci-News, the focus of this particular observation is on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can reveal many physical characteristics of the interstellar environment.
PAHs are tiny “dust particles” whose small size makes them highly valuable for astronomy. When PAHs absorb a photon from a star, they vibrate and produce emission features that can be observed by suitable telescopes. On Earth, PAHs can be formed from volcanic eruptions and asphalt, and they are harmful chemicals when polluted in food and objects. However, in the astrophysical environment, they are intimately linked to the process of star formation and the properties of stellar nurseries.
NGC 7496, a galaxy located 24 million light-years away from us – Image: NASA/ESA/CSA
It’s like a thread that Earth can grasp if there is an observatory that can observe at near-infrared wavelengths, a role previously filled by NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope. With James Webb, the images become sharper than ever before and have helped the research team led by Dr. Karin Sandstrom from the University of California, San Diego, to map the interiors of those distant galaxies, revealing distinctive details such as gas filaments, energy bubbles blown by newly formed stars, stars with intense radiation fields, and even the “death of stars” known as supernovae.
All of these unveil the core aspects of the star formation process within a galaxy, which can be seen as the genesis of many worlds: billions of years ago, the Sun was born in a similar way, gradually giving rise to planets, including Earth.
The findings from these new observations will be presented in a series of forthcoming studies in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
James Webb, currently the world’s most powerful space telescope, was built and operated by NASA with the support of two space agencies, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).