James Webb Space Telescope Discovery

NASA’s Webb, Hubble Combine to Create Most Colorful View of Universe

This panchromatic view of galaxy cluster MACS0416 was created by combining infrared observations from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope with visible-light data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. To make the image, in general the shortest wavelengths of light were colour-coded blue, the longest wavelengths red, and intermediate wavelengths green. The resulting wavelength coverage, from 0.4 to 5 microns, reveals a vivid landscape of galaxies that could be described as one of the most colourful views of the universe ever created. MACS0416 is a galaxy cluster located about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth, meaning that the light from it that we see now left the cluster shortly after the formation of our Solar System. This cluster magnifies the light from more distant background galaxies through gravitational lensing. As a result, the research team has been able to identify magnified supernovae and even very highly magnified individual stars. Those colours give clues to galaxy distances: the bluest galaxies are relatively nearby and often show intense star formation, as best detected by Hubble, while the redder galaxies tend to be more distant, or else contain copious amounts of dust, as best detected by Webb. The image reveals a wealth of details that it is only possible to capture by combining the power of both space telescopes. In this image, blue represents data at wavelengths of 0.435, 0.606, 0.814, and 1.05 microns (Hubble filters F435W, F606W, F814W, and F105W). Green combines data at 0.90, 1.15, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, and 2.77 microns (Hubble filter F160W and Webb filters F090W, F115W, F150W, F200W, and F277W). Red represents data at 3.56, 4.1, and 4.44 microns (Webb filters F356W, F410M and F444W). Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Diego (Instituto de Física de Cantabria, Spain), J. D’Silva (U. Western Australia), A. Koekemoer (STScI), J. Summers & R. Windhorst (ASU), and H. Yan (U. Missouri) Galaxy cluster MACS0416 (Hubble and Webb composite image)
Galaxy cluster MACS0416 (Hubble and Webb composite image, annotated)
This image of galaxy cluster MACS0416 highlights one particular gravitationally lensed background galaxy, which existed about 3 billion years after the big bang. That galaxy contains a transient, or object that varies in observed brightness over time, that the science team nicknamed “Mothra.” Mothra is a star that is magnified by a factor of at least 4,000 times. The team believes that Mothra is magnified not only by the gravity of galaxy cluster MACS0416, but also by an object known as a “milli-lens” that likely weighs about as much as a globular star cluster. Galaxy cluster MACS0416 with Mothra pullout
This side-by-side comparison of galaxy cluster MACS0416 as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in optical light (left) and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light (right) reveals different details. Both images feature hundreds of galaxies, however the Webb image shows galaxies that are invisible or only barely visible in the Hubble image. This is because Webb’s infrared vision can detect galaxies too distant or dusty for Hubble to see. Light from distant galaxies is redshifted due to the expansion of the Universe. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Galaxy cluster MACS1416 (Hubble and Webb images)
More article images of Mothra (unofficial)
Raw images