James Webb Space Telescope Discovery

NASA's Chandra, Webb Combine for Arresting Views

What do you get when you combine X-ray, infrared, and optical data? These gorgeous views showcase star cluster NGC 346, spiral galaxies NGC 1672 and Messier 74, and the Pillars of Creation (Eagle Nebula) in ways we could never see with just our eyes. The composite images here combine data from the Webb, Chandra, Hubble, Spitzer, XMM-Newton, and ESO telescopes. Credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand The Eagle Nebula, also called M16, and often referred to as the "Pillars of Creation." Here, tall columns of gray gas and dust emerge from the bottom edge of the image, stretching toward our upper right. Backed by dark orange mist, the cloudy gray columns are surrounded by dozens of soft, glowing, pink and purple dots; massive stars emitting enormous amounts of X-rays. The shapes, hints of movement, and colors in this composite rendering create a dream-like image. The misty orange background suggests a dusky sky, and the glowing pink and purple stars resemble fireflies. Churning with turbulent gas and dust, the columns lean to our right with small offshoots pointing in the same direction. These details evoke an image of yearning cloud creatures at dusk, pointing at something just out of frame. X-ray Chandra
M74. This is an image of a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way, known as Messier 74. Shown face-on from our vantage point on Earth, the galaxy's sparkling arms spiral out from a bright white core. The core appears vibrant and alive, and crackles with lightning-like, pale blue light. Glowing, high-energy stars in purple, white, and orange, dot the lengths of the spiraling arms. Webs of murky dust crisscross the space between the curving silver blue arms, also known as dust lanes. Infrared Webb X-ray Chandra
NGC 1672. Shown face on, this spiral galaxy has two major arms curving away from the bright swirling light at its core. One arm extends to our lower left with a gentle upward curve. The other extends to our upper right with a curve reminiscent of a question mark. Both arms have a cloudy, silver blue quality, and are dotted with bright white and purple stars of varying sizes. In this galaxy, categorized as a "barred" spiral, the arms don’t appear to reach the bright core. The space around the bright pinkish core is a swirl of murky, pale silver cloud. Infrared Webb X-ray Chandra Optical Hubble
NGC 346. Here, thousands of specks of light blanket the blackness of space. A ribbon of thick orange cloud runs along the bottom edge of the image, rounds our lower right corner, and streaks up the right side. A similar patch of roiling orange cloud can be found near our upper left. Between these gas plumes, centered near the top of the image, the star cluster is densely packed with specks of white, blue, and purple light. At our left, a large, bright white, gleaming dot is surrounded by purple mist. This is a hot, young, massive star, sending powerful winds outward from its surface. A patch of smaller dots, other young stars, can be found inside a faint purple mist near the center of the image. X-ray Chandra X-ray/Optical/Infrared XMM-Newton, NTT, & Spitzer Infrared/Optical Webb & Hubble