James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

NASA's Webb Reveals Distorted Galaxy Forming Cosmic Question Mark (NIRCam)

? ?? Thanks to a cosmic magnifying glass effect, the gravity of a massive galaxy cluster is warping two distant interacting galaxies (a face-on spiral and a dusty red galaxy) behind it, making them appear multiple times, tracing a shape that may be familiar. Though Hubble previously observed the spiral, the dusty red galaxy has only been seen by Webb. Dust traps shorter wavelengths of light but allows infrared light to pass through. The dot of the question mark is an unrelated galaxy that happens to be in the right place and space-time, from our perspective. The lensing/magnification effect allows astronomers to pinpoint specific regions of star formation. Active star formation, and the face-on galaxy’s remarkably intact spiral shape, indicate that these galaxies’ interaction with each other is just beginning. Read more: go.nasa.gov/3Mxewgw Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Vicente Estrada-Carpenter (Saint Mary's University) Image Description: Hundreds of small galaxies against the black background of space. Several white spiral galaxies are near image center. Most of the galaxies are various shades of orange and red, and many are too tiny to discern a shape. A handful of foreground stars show Webb's six diffraction spikes. Image & Description by NASA