Webb Telescope Captures New Detail of Phantom Galaxy
upstart writes:
Webb telescope captures new detail of Phantom Galaxy:
The James Webb space telescope has revealed dazzling new detail of a previously known slice of the cosmos 32 million light-years away, in a new picture released by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The infrared technology of the telescope, launched in December 2021, has allowed for an even clearer view of the so-called Phantom Galaxy than astronomers had ever seen before.
[...] The whirling celestial form, officially called M74, is located in the Pisces constellation 32 million light-years away from Earth.
The Webb image shows the galaxy's brilliant white, red, pink and light blue appendages of dust and stars swirling around a bright blue center, all set against the dark backdrop of deep space.
M74 was previously photographed by the Hubble telescope, which captured the galaxy's spiraling blue and pink arms, but instead showed its glowing center as a soft yellow.
The Phantom Galaxy is a "favorite target for astronomers studying the origin and structure of galactic spirals," NASA and the ESA said. The picture taken by Webb will help them "learn more about the earliest phases of star formation in the local Universe," and record more information about 19 star-forming galaxies close to our own Milky Way.
The JWST and Hubble pictures are quite beautiful and very wallpaper-worthy and show the benefits a larger aperture and being able to see through interstellar gas makes. More information about M74. [hubie]
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