“500 million light years from Earth” – James Webb captures the Cartwheel galaxy

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Astronomers estimate that this particular galaxy was once a spiral, like our own. But its collision with a smaller galaxy gave it the shape it has in the image taken by the space telescope.

NASA today released a rare and stunning image of a galaxy 500 million light-years away from Earth, the Cartwheel Galaxy, whose rings are captured in unprecedented clarity thanks to the state-of-the-art James Webb Space Telescope.

Astronomers estimate that this particular galaxy was once a spiral, like our own. But its collision with a smaller galaxy gave it the shape it has in the image taken by the space telescope.

Gradually, rings were formed that look like the ripples caused by a pebble falling into the sea.

The Cartwheel Galaxy had already been observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, but James Webb revealed new details. “It gives us an idea of ​​what has happened in the past and how it will evolve in the future,” the US space agency says.

A $10 billion technological masterpiece, the James Webb Space Telescope launched about seven months ago and is nearly 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.

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