Given our knowledge of galaxies and star formation, the dust ring was thought to be the birthplace of new stars. Also, it was possible that the central part of the galaxy, like many other galaxies, has a bulge of stars similar to other galaxies. But James Webb’s telescope image tells a different story.
The image we’re talking about (feature image) was taken using the James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Because of its ability to see at infrared wavelengths, the instrument can cut through thick galactic dust and reveal hidden details. In this image, masses of hot molecular gas can be seen at the edge of the galaxy; But a few young stars are also visible.
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It seems that the dust ring is not an important source of star formation. The image also reveals the central region of the galaxy. Instead of a halo of stars surrounding the black hole, a flat disk is visible. The central black hole is active, but its galactic core is low in luminosity. This is surprising, because the Mexican Cap Galaxy, like more active galactic nuclei, produces strong streams of plasma.
All in all, the Mexican Hat Galaxy is a lot weirder than expected. Although these images are just the first detailed images taken with James Webb, they show that the telescope will be able to provide a lot of information in the future.
Future observations will likely focus on globular galaxy clusters. There are about two thousand globular clusters in the Mexican Hat Galaxy, which is quite a lot for a galaxy of this size. This could explain why NGC 4594 is so different from other galaxies.
For more images of the Mexican Hat Galaxy, visit the James Webb Space Telescope website.
