James Webb image of Messier 106, also known as NGC 4258, a nearby spiral galaxy. Image: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J Glenn
The supermassive black hole of Messier 106 is quite active and consumes large amounts of gas, which may explain the two extra arms made of gas contained in the galaxy.
The James Webb Space Telescope has shared a detailed image of a nearby galaxy, with a uniquely active supermassive black hole at the centre.
The powerful space observatory turned its gaze to Messier 106, a spiral galaxy that is roughly 23m light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici – making it a neighbour of ours by cosmic standards.
Messier 106, one of the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to our own, has been a source of unique sightings over the years – two supernovae were observed in this galaxy in 1981 and 2014.
The latest image from Webb shows the shining heart of the spiral galaxy – a supermassive black hole. Most spiral galaxies contain this type of black hole at their core, but they are usually relatively inactive for their size, pulling in wisps of gas.
But Messier 106’s black hole is unique in its activity, as it is gobbling up large amounts of material around it. The image shows gas spiralling towards the black hole, heating up and emitting powerful radiation on its journey.
The image was taken using Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). The European Space Agency says the orange regions indicate warmer dust while the stronger red hues represent colder dust. The teal, green and yellow tones near the centre of the image show varying distributions of gas.
The image also shows a unique feature of this spiral galaxy, which are its two ‘anomalous’ extra spiral arms that are visible in radio and x-ray wavelengths. Unlike the normal arms of the galaxy, these two are composed of hot gas instead of stars.
Astronomers believe these extra arms are the result of the black hole’s activity, an outflow of material being pushed out as the black hole violently takes in gas. This is an effect that has been witnessed in other galaxies.
This James Webb observation was taken as part of a dedicated programme to study the galaxy’s active galactic nucleus, the bright central region in a galaxy that is dominated by the light emitted by dust and gas as it falls into a black hole.
Earlier this year, Webb turned its gaze to Messier 82 – or M82 – a relatively compact but highly active galaxy that is roughly 12m light years away.
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