What may first appear as a grainy glow is actually a dense field of millions of individually resolved stars. By distinguishing different generations of stars embedded throughout the dusty center, Webb gives astronomers new clues to the galaxy's history and the processes that continue to shape it.
This combined view of Centaurus A from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope pairs observations from the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Webb's infrared vision exposes a warped disk of gas and dust left behind by a collision with another galaxy billions of years ago.
Abell S103 with Pullout of GLIMPSE-17775 (Unannotated NIRCam Image)
The little red dot that would come to be known as GLIMPSE-17775 was fortunately included in NASA?s James Webb Space Telescope?s field of view as it was observing galaxy cluster Abell S1063 for a different scientific purpose. GLIMPSE-17775 is located behind the galaxy cluster and has a...
The differences in what Webb?s infrared instruments reveal and conceal within the PMR 1 ?Exposed Cranium? nebula is apparent in this side-by-side view. More stars and background galaxies shine through the view of Webb?s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), while cosmic dust glows more prominently in...
Galactic Pioneer MXDFz4.4 (Unannotated Hubble and Webb Image)
Oddball galaxy MXDFz4.4 existed only 1.4 billion years after the big bang, when the universe was still a ?swirl? of opaque and clear gas as the Era of Reionization was ending.
Detailed visible-light images from NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope revealed that several bursts of younger stars...
Oddball galaxy MXDFz4.4 existed only 1.4 billion years after the big bang, when the universe was still a ?swirl? of opaque and clear gas as the Era of Reionization was ending.
Detailed visible-light images from NASA?s Hubble Space Telescope revealed that several bursts of younger stars...
This side-by-side image compares NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes’ observations of star system FS Tau. Hubble’s observation provides a clear view of protostar FS Tau B, its dusty protoplanetary disk, and an astrophysical jet, assigned the color cyan in this image. However, the...
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captures the infrared light from bright protostars in young star system FS Tau. FS Tau A, a pair of protostars that creates the largest diffraction pattern slightly to the left of center, is about half the mass of our Sun. FS Tau B, the orange protostar...
Terzan 5 is a stellar system orbiting within the Milky Way galaxy’s bulge, which is an incredibly bright, crowded central region of the galaxy. Not only are stars within the bulge tightly packed together — every bit of this region is laced with thick clouds of gas and dust.
NASA’s James Webb...
The above ground-based image of nearby galaxy Centaurus A from the European Southern Observatory (top left) puts the near-infrared and mid-infrared views from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope image into context.
This combined view of Centaurus A from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope pairs observations from the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Webb’s infrared vision exposes a warped disk of gas and dust left behind by a collision with another galaxy billions of years ago.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system. Webb’s infrared vision pierces thick lanes of dust that obscure much of the galaxy in visible light,...