James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

Tracing spiral arms in infrared

Pardon our dust! Webb’s near and mid-infrared view of spiral galaxy NGC 2090 highlights its two winding arms as well as the beautiful details of its swirls of dust and gas. In visible light, the arms of NGC 2090 are not easily traceable because of its dust and gas and its patchy dusty disk - as seen in this recent Hubble view. This type of galaxy is called a flocculent spiral. Across the disk of NGC 2090 are clusters of star formation that can be seen in both Webb and Hubble's images. Together, the telescopes are helping to create a fuller overall picture of star formation and galaxy evolution. For more information about both images, see: esawebb.org/images/potm2411a/ and esahubble.org/images/potw2448a/ Image credits: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy Image description: A spiral galaxy with a wide, oval-shaped disc. It has a shining spot at the centre from which two curving, pale red spiral arms emerge, wrapping once each around the galaxy. They’re surrounded by a whirl of bright threads and patches of dust, with spots of star formation scattered throughout. The glow of the disc fades smoothly into the background where some patches of dust can be seen, as well as foreground stars. Image & Description by NASA