Steward Observatory’s Rebecca Levy is Second Author on a JWST Study That Probes an Extreme Starburst Galaxy
Amid a site teeming with new and young stars lies an intricate substructure.
Steward Observatory's NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow Rebecca Levy is second author on a study that unveils details of the starburst galaxy Messier 82
A team of astronomers has used the NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope to survey the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82). Located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, this galaxy is relatively compact in size but hosts a frenzy of star formation activity. For comparison, M82 is sprouting new stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way galaxy.
Star formation continues to maintain a sense of mystery because it is shrouded by curtains of dust and gas, creating an obstacle in observing this process. Fortunately, Webb’s ability to peer in the infrared is an asset in navigating these murky conditions. Additionally, these NIRCam images of the very center of the starburst were obtained using an instrument mode that prevented the very bright source from overwhelming the detector.
While dark brown tendrils of heavy dust are threaded throughout M82’s glowing white core even in this infrared view, Webb’s NIRCam has revealed a level of detail that has historically been obscured. Looking closer toward the center, small specks depicted in green denote concentrated areas of iron, most of which are supernova remnants. Small patches that appear red signify regions where molecular hydrogen is being lit up by a nearby young star’s radiation.
“This image shows the power of Webb,” said Rebecca Levy, second author of the study at UArizona's Steward Observatory. “Every single white dot in this image is either a star or a star cluster. We can start to distinguish all of these tiny point sources, which enables us to acquire an accurate count of all the star clusters in this galaxy.”