OT- What’s the latest news about the James Webb Space Telescope?
Funny you should ask!
Scientists found a massive shockwave and baby dwarf galaxy in Stephan’s Quintet. https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-stephans-quintet-shockwave-baby-galaxy
As shown in the amazing photo below, Stephan’s Quintet is a cluster of five galaxies that are, by comparison, extremely close together. Think in terms of "a million light years" apart from each other rather than "100 million light years" apart.
Excerpt from the linked article:
New observations made with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) provided astronomers with a good view of intruder galaxy NGC 7318b as it violently forces its way into this group of galaxies at a relative speed of around 1.8 million mph (approximately 800 kilometers per second). That's fast enough to travel from Earth to the moon and back again in just over 15 minutes.
This violent invasion of Stephan's Quintet is triggering a shockwave several times as large as the Milky Way that is rippling through the interstellar plasma and kickstarting a "recycling plant" for warm and cold molecular hydrogen gas between the five galaxies. In addition, astronomers found a giant cloud of gas breaking apart to form a less-dense "fog" of warm gas; the JWST/ALMA observations also show a tail of warm gas forming from what might be a collision between two clouds, and even the formation of a new galaxy.
… triggering a shockwave several times as large as the Milky Way!!
Kowabunga!!
January 12th, 2023 at 4:04 PM ^
So. . . how's NGC 7318b's pass rush?
1.8 million mph is impressive, but is there any bend?
January 12th, 2023 at 4:08 PM ^
The shockwave is an interstellar transfer portal.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:10 PM ^
Struggles with change of direction.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:12 PM ^
Pad level?
January 12th, 2023 at 5:22 PM ^
From the picture thinking a 4 star.
January 13th, 2023 at 12:21 AM ^
Don’t need pad level if you weigh as much as a small galaxy.
January 13th, 2023 at 8:32 AM ^
Well, I know which stars were hitting hardest out there.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:42 PM ^
Too short and too slow for the next level.
January 12th, 2023 at 6:52 PM ^
Not afraid of contact
January 13th, 2023 at 5:11 AM ^
Arms are too short. Well be a bust at the next level. Do not want.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:17 PM ^
I saw Stephan’s Quintet at St. Andrew’s back in ‘95. I was on SO MANY mushrooms…
January 12th, 2023 at 4:23 PM ^
They are one of the better bagpipe bands in the world. Tried to see them over the summer when we went to Edinburgh, but ticket prices for the reunion tour were too high.
January 13th, 2023 at 4:48 PM ^
Evidently so was FauxMo. I'll be here all week!
January 12th, 2023 at 4:25 PM ^
Why are you posting this here?
Alex is begging for mailbag questions just two posts down. I have it on good authority* that he was all lined up to cover the newest James Webb developments as his lead-in, but you couldn't help yourself. You just had to steal this from him.
*On what authority you may ask? I clearly made this rumor up myself.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:26 PM ^
Heard it entered the space portal.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:28 PM ^
It can see just how big Jim harbaugh's next contract is going to be at the u of m!
January 12th, 2023 at 4:32 PM ^
They still haven't found anything as big as yo momma.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:39 PM ^
Well, when she puts on her little black dress, she does look like outer space.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:32 PM ^
Intruder Galaxy ftw
January 12th, 2023 at 4:33 PM ^
I didn’t ask, YOU asked.
Still, I’ll allow it.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:33 PM ^
Shockwave you say? They must have just seen the final Michigan vs OSU score from 2022.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:34 PM ^
“as it violently forces its way into this group, like a sparty into a tunnel.”
FIFY
January 12th, 2023 at 4:43 PM ^
Yeah but why was that galaxy skipping?
January 12th, 2023 at 4:42 PM ^
Thank you for these (seriously).
My dad is a mega space nerd and this gives me something to talk about with him besides the Red Wings and Michigan.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:49 PM ^
My pleasure! Don't forget to talk about Lagrange Points!!
January 12th, 2023 at 6:42 PM ^
☝️Is that Uranus?
January 12th, 2023 at 6:55 PM ^
I saw Uranus for the first time this fall through a telescope. Amazing to see something like that “live” and have it more than a small dot. I tried to capture it with the planetary camera, but for some reason Uranus just didn’t look quite as good in the photos as I’d remembered.
January 12th, 2023 at 4:48 PM ^
Yeah but how long til the aliens get here and are they still all about probing?
January 12th, 2023 at 5:08 PM ^
I only see four galaxies. It appears the third galaxy from the top is enticing the top two galaxies into a "conjugal" visit. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
But my telescope, as an amateur astronomer, is only an 8" Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain. I shall defer to those with larger equipment to provide greater insight.
January 12th, 2023 at 10:14 PM ^
It's good that you realized that size does matter.
January 12th, 2023 at 6:48 PM ^
Still out there looking for CJ Strouds Heisman and BIG Championship
January 12th, 2023 at 6:54 PM ^
You guys are some funny nerds! (or geeks)
this thread is a testament to the greatness of MGOBLOG.
January 12th, 2023 at 7:25 PM ^
These photos are so stunning. Coincidentally there is a massive acknowledgement of UFO activities. Coincidence??
January 12th, 2023 at 8:18 PM ^
Maybe Sam Webb needs to use the James Webb Telescope instead of his gut or Crystal Ball when making recruitment predictions?
January 13th, 2023 at 6:45 AM ^
read the other day it found its first exoplanet.i got really into astronomy. bought a 12” dobsonian last year. i can almost see the different colors of jupiters atmosphere. need to either buy a adapter for my iphone or ipad to really get great shots.a camera makes all the difference as it is all about collecting light.some pics i see on you tube with smaller telescopes look amazing almost as good as nasa pics.
January 13th, 2023 at 4:45 PM ^
My tiny brain doesn't understand how pictures this clear are transmitted from that far away. Fascinating.