The Hubble Space Telescope has obtained an incredible image of a galaxy in the constellation Pegasus, approximately 800 million light-years from Earth. The JW100 galaxy is a particular sort of “jellyfish galaxy”. There are lengthy tendrils lit up by star formation clumps that seem to be streaming away from the central core of the galaxy. This gives it a jellyfish-like look.
When galaxies come into contact with the diffuse gas that permeates galaxy clusters, a process known as ram pressure stripping takes place. This process produces the tendrils. It works as a headwind, removing gas and dust from the galaxy. This results in the trailing streamers which prominently adorn JW100 as galaxies plow through this tenuous gas.
JW100 was caught edge-on by the Hubble Space Telescope. This revealed the galaxy’s dazzling spiral arms and core bulge made up of stars, gas, and dust. Blue trails that resemble jellyfish tentacles can be observed stretching beneath the galaxy. JW100 is situated in the lower right corner of the Hubble view. It is surrounded by six small elliptical galaxies and the much larger elliptical galaxy known as IC 5338. IC 5338 can be seen as the bright region of diffuse light at the image’s top. These galaxies belong to a common cluster.
The galaxy cluster’s brightest member, IC 5338, has two cores and is categorized as a cD galaxy. The cD galaxies are assumed to grow by eating smaller galaxies. Their nuclei can take a very long period to be absorbed. This means that it is common for them to have numerous nuclei to be present in their bodies. Its outer edges are decorated with dazzling spots of light, which are composed of a large number of globular clusters.
Investigating star formation in the tendrils of jellyfish galaxies was the objective of a project that utilized the space telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 to develop the Hubble image. The tendrils experience extreme conditions that foster star formation. With the assistance of this, astronomers may gain insight into star formation in other regions of the cosmos.
New information about how galaxies interact with their surroundings is revealed by the finding of JW100 and its jellyfish-like appearance. Astronomers can gain a better understanding of the evolution of galaxies by examining the gas and dust that have been removed by the ram pressure stripping procedure.