08/12 04:37
Stunning new video travels 500 million light-years away in just seconds, revealing the stunning Cartwheel Galaxy as captured by the James Webb Telescope.
The powerful infrared view of the $10 billion (£7.4 billion) observatory produced a rare view of Cartwheel and two small companion galaxies against the backdrop of many others.
Scientists say the detailed view will provide new details about the formation of stars and the galaxy’s central black hole.
Other telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, have examined the Cartwheel, which is in the Sculptor constellation.
But the dramatic galaxy was shrouded in mystery, perhaps literally, given the amount of dust obscuring the view.
The James Webb image and NASA-linked video also provide a new view of how the Cartwheel Galaxy has changed over billions of years.
The shot provides a perspective on what happened to the galaxy in the past and what it will do in the future.
The Cartwheel galaxy has two rings – a bright inner ring and a colorful ring surrounding it. These rings extend outward from the center of the impact, like ripples in a puddle after a stone is thrown into it.
Because of these distinctive features, astronomers call it a “ring galaxy,” a structure less common than spiral galaxies such as our Milky Way.
The bright core contains a huge amount of hot dust, with the brightest regions being home to groups of young, giant stars.
On the other hand, the outer ring, spanning about 440 million years, is dominated by star formation and supernovae. When this ring expands, it enters the surrounding gas and leads to star formation.
However, learning finer details about the dust inhabiting the galaxy requires the Web’s Medium Infrared Instrument (MIRI).