Chandra Release - May 23 2023

Visual Descriptions: Chandra and Webb Images

This release features four separate images that combine X-ray data from the Chandra Observatory, and infrared data from the James Webb Space Telescope, and some data from other telescopes like Hubble, Spitzer and XMM-Newton. The dark but colorful, highly detailed, composite images, are presented individually, and in a two-by-two grid.

At our upper left is the NGC 346 star cluster. Here, thousands of specks of light blanket the blackness of space. A ribbon of thick orange cloud runs along the bottom edge of the image, rounds our lower right corner, and streaks up the right side. A similar patch of roiling orange cloud can be found near our upper left. Between these gas plumes, centered near the top of the image, the star cluster is densely packed with specks of white, blue, and purple light. At our left, a large, bright white, gleaming dot is surrounded by purple mist. This is a hot, young, massive star, sending powerful winds outward from its surface. A patch of smaller dots, other young stars, can be found inside a faint purple mist near the center of the image.

Next, in our lower left of the two-by-two grid, is a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way, known as Messier 74. Shown face-on from our vantage point on Earth, the galaxy's sparkling arms spiral out from a bright white core. The core appears vibrant and alive, and crackles with lightening-like, pale blue light. Glowing, high-energy stars in purple, white, and orange, dot the lengths of the spiraling arms. Webs of murky dust crisscross the space between the curving silver blue arms, also known as dust lanes.

At our upper right of the two-by-two grid is another spiral galaxy called NGC 1672. Also shown face on, this spiral galaxy has two major arms curving away from the bright swirling light at its core. One arm extends to our lower left with a gentle upward curve. The other extends to our upper right with a curve reminiscent of a question mark. Both arms have a cloudy, silver blue quality, and are dotted with bright white and purple stars of varying sizes. In this galaxy, categorized as a "barred" spiral, the arms don’t appear to reach the bright core. The space around the bright pinkish core is a swirl of murky, pale silver cloud.

Finally, at our lower right of the two-by-two grid, is the Eagle Nebula, often referred to as the "Pillars of Creation". Here, tall columns of grey gas and dust emerge from the bottom edge of the image, stretching toward our upper right. Backed by dark orange mist, the cloudy grey columns are surrounded by dozens of soft, glowing, pink and purple dots; massive stars emitting enormous amounts of X-rays. The shapes, hints of movement, and colors in this composite rendering create a dream-like image. The misty orange background suggests a dusky sky, and the glowing pink and purple stars resemble fireflies. Churning with turbulent gas and dust, the columns lean to our right with small offshoots pointing in the same direction. These details evoke an image of yearning cloud creatures at dusk, pointing at something just out of frame.