A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a galaxy partly hidden by a huge cloud of dust known as a dark nebula.
The galaxy IC 4633 still shines brightly and beautifully in the main part of the image, but to the bottom right, you can see dark smudges of dust that are blocking the light from this part of the galaxy.
By bringing together data from the space-based Hubble and the ground-based DECam, astronomers can get a better look at this galaxy, located 100 million light-years away, and the dark dust partially obscuring it.
This is a bustling, busy galaxy, with vigorous star formation and a bright center called an active galactic nucleus.
Recommended Videos The cloud of dust blocking the view is part of a star-forming region called Chamaeleon, and it is much closer to us than the galaxy it blocks.
At just 500 light-years away, the dark nebula is much closer to Earth than the galaxy.
When seen in the visible light portion of the spectrum, the same wavelengths seen by the human eye and also known as the optical, these clouds of dust appear dark and featureless.
Dust becomes even more interesting when it is viewed in the infrared wavelength, with instruments like those used on the James Webb Space Telescope.
A galaxy is partially obscured by a massive dust cloud known as a dark nebula in a recent Hubble Space Telescope image. Although dark smudges of dust to the bottom right of the image are obstructing the light from this region of the galaxy, the main portion of the image still displays the brilliant and lovely galaxy IC 4633.
Utilizing data from the DECam instrument on the Chile-based Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope, the image was captured with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instrument. Astronomers can gain a better understanding of this galaxy, which is 100 million light-years away, and the dark dust that partially obscures it by combining data from the space-based Hubble and the ground-based DECam.
With a bright core known as the active galactic nucleus, this galaxy is teeming with activity and undergoing rapid star formation. We are able to see the graceful spiral shape because of its orientation with respect to Earth. Since spiral galaxies are typically symmetrical, you can determine that the bottom right portion of the galaxy is obscured by something because its starlight is significantly less intense than that of other parts of the galaxy.
Much closer to us than the galaxy it blocks is the Chamaeleon star-forming region, which includes the cloud of dust obstructing the view. The dark nebula is significantly closer to Earth than the galaxy, at a distance of only 500 light-years.
Upon viewing these dust clouds in the visible light spectrum—also referred to as the optical—which comprises the same wavelengths as the human eye, they appear to be gloomy and abstract. To be sure, astronomers ignored this kind of cosmic dust for many years, considering it nothing more than an inconvenience that interfered with their observations. But since cosmic dust is essential to processes like star formation, its significance has emerged in recent years.
When dust is observed in the infrared spectrum using equipment similar to that on the James Webb Space Telescope, it becomes even more fascinating. Through the use of infrared instruments, structures that would otherwise be hidden, like the swirls of dust in nearby galaxies or the concentric dust shells around stars, can be seen through layers of dust.
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