Euclid reveals amazing details of spiral galaxy NGC 6744
The Euclid Space Telescope presents us with a stunning new image of spiral galaxy NGC 6744, about 30 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Peacock. This galaxy is a perfect example of the type of galaxies that make up most of the stars in the local universe, making it an ideal target for astronomy studies
Euclid's wide field of view allows the entire galaxy to be viewed, from its grand spiral structure to the fine details of the gas and dust within its arms. The image clearly shows the dark, feather-like dust streaks, known as the "spikes" of the spiral arms. These bulges are thought to play an important role in star formation, providing the dense environment of gas and dust needed for stellar clouds to collapse.
The European Space Agency's Euclid telescope has unveiled new images of the universe that have astounded astrophysicists.
“We observe molecular clouds, which are a mixture of gas and dust, which “collapse under their own weight,” explains Jean-Charles Coulander, an astronomer at the Atomic Energy Commission (CE).
Astrophysicist Eric Lagadec explained. “We notice 300,000 young or forming stars. This is amazing.”
The Euclid Telescope captured an image of the spiral galaxy NGC 6744 and was published by the European Space Agency on May 23, 2024.
The latter is considered “one of the largest spiral galaxies” located outside our region. According to the European Space Agency.
“Euclid is able to image large-scale spiral structures and small-scale details with incredible clarity,” the agency explains. “Like feather-like dust lanes.”
The European Space Agency explains that this cluster includes an astronomical number of galaxies - more than 50 thousand - “many of which resemble our Milky Way Galaxy.”
It is also very, very far away: “It took 2.7 billion years for its light to reach us.” As Jason Rhodes, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL, NASA's California center), explains to Le Parisien.
“These clusters contain enormous amounts of mass, up to 10,000 billion times the mass of the Sun. Most of it is in the form of dark matter,” the European Space Agency specifies.
The European Space Agency is proud that “this image highlights the diversity of Euclid.” “A wide range of galaxies can be seen here, from very bright to very faint.”
Source: websites