The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed stunning new details of a previously known portion of the cosmos 32 million light-years from Earth in an image released by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The telescope’s infrared technology, launched into space in December 2021, allowed an even clearer view of the so-called Phantom Galaxy.
“Webb’s sharp view revealed delicate filaments of gas and dust in large spiral arms that snake out from the center of this image,” explained NASA and ESA on Monday.
“The lack of gas in the core region also provides a clearer view of the nuclear star cluster at the center of the galaxy,” the agencies said in a statement.
The rotating celestial form, officially called M74, is in the constellation Pisces, 32 million light-years from Earth.
The Webb telescope image shows the galaxy’s white, red, pink and light blue appendages rotating around a bright blue center against the backdrop of dark, deep space.
M74 was previously imaged by the Hubble telescope, which captured the galaxy’s blue and pink spiral arms, but its center appeared faintly yellow.
The Phantom Galaxy is a “favorite target for astronomers studying the origin and structure of galactic spirals,” NASA and ESA said.
The image taken by the telescope will help “learn more about the early stages of star formation in the local Universe” and record more information about 19 star-forming galaxies close to our Milky Way, the agencies said.
The image will be used by astronomers to “locate star-forming regions in galaxies, accurately measure the masses and ages of star clusters, and gain insights into the nature of the tiny dust grains that roam interstellar space,” the statement reads.
