The attention of the academic world has focused on the bright globular cluster at the center of our Galaxy, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The difference with the observation information of the same star cluster captured in the past by the Hubble Space Telescope was evident, allowing us to understand the performance of the James Webb Space Telescope.
On the 2nd, the European Space Agency (ESA) presented through its official channel the latest image of the globular cluster “NGC 6440” seen through the near-infrared camera of the James Webb Space Telescope (NIRCam).
“NGC 6440” is located approximately 28,000 light-years from Earth towards the constellation Sagittarius. A globular cluster is a celestial body in which tens of thousands or millions of stars are collected in a spherical shape. In the photo, countless stars shine like jewels. In our Galaxy alone there are about 150 globular clusters.
NGC 6440, a globular cluster in our galaxy captured by the NIRCam of the James Webb Space Telescope. <사진=ESA 공식 홈페이지>
An ESA official said: “The observation of ‘NGC 6440’ by the James Webb Space Telescope is part of research to investigate the more detailed properties of the binary pulsar ‘PSR J1748-2021B’.” A binary pulsar is a pulsar that accompanies reflection and ‘PSR J1748’ “The ‘-2021B’ pulsar is estimated to have a mass about 2.5 times that of the sun.”
“This value is almost equal to the upper limit of the mass of a neutron star predicted in theory,” he said “If you know the reflected mass, you can also check the mass of the main star, the pulsar. so this observation from the James Webb Space Telescope is very important in space physics.”
A pulsar is a type of neutron star that emits periodic electromagnetic waves like a flashing light. The direction of the emission of electromagnetic waves from a rapidly rotating neutron star changes continuously due to its rotation, so it is observed from Earth in the form of a pulse.
Through this observation by the James Webb Space Telescope, it was also revealed for the first time that the amounts of helium and oxygen contained in the stars within “NGC 6440” are different.
An ESA official said: “Because gas containing a lot of dust is distributed in the direction of Sagittarius or the nearby constellation of Scorpius, the light emitted by the star is easily absorbed and scattered. In particular, the star appears redder than or in reality, this is why it was considered a difficult area to observe.” He explained.
This official said, “The James Webb Space Telescope can observe infrared light relatively unimpeded by space dust,” and added, “For this reason, like ‘NGC 6440,’ we expect it to continue to reveal detailed information on the central core.” cluster of our Galaxy. “he did.
Journalist Jeong Ian Anglee@sputnik.kr
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