Artist’s impression of the James Webb Telescope. (NASA via SWNS)
By Talker
Space scientists have unveiled an inspiring new picture of a spiral galaxy.
Dubbing the cosmic wonder “a beacon of light in swirls of dust,” they posted on Thursday, May 7: “Don’t let anyone dull your shine. The heart of galaxy M77 nearly outshines the galaxy itself in this mid-infrared Webb image.”
Messier 77 (M77) as captured by NASA’s James Webb Telescope. (ESA / Webb / NASA / CSA / A. Leroy via SWNS)
By Talker
The image, crowned the latest Picture of the Month, features Messier 77 (M77), a barred spiral galaxy famous among astronomers for its combination of relative proximity and spectacular features to study.
It is located 45 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus, known as the Whale.
NASA said: “This new image from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) highlights its swirling spiral arms, the dust in its disk and its piercingly bright core like never before. Gas rapidly orbits the central black hole, heating up, and radiating light.”