The Whirlpool Galaxy sprawls across the cosmos in this striking new snapshot from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
What is it?
The Whirlpool Galaxy was captured in this image by JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), according to a statement. This is JWST’s primary instrument for seeing the universe in near-infrared light, which is a range of the electromagnetic wavelengths just out of our eyes’ reach.
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By seeing in near-infrared, NIRCam was able to capture this incredible view of part of the Whirlpool Galaxy. Located in the constellation Canes Vanatici, the spiral galaxy is made up of long swirls of gas and dust speckled with stars.
Beyond being just a beautiful cosmic sight, the formations of dust and gas that comprise this galaxy are actually a star-forming region. Here, gases like hydrogen and dust are compressed, condensing into new stars.
Why is it incredible?
This image shows only a section of the incredibly expansive spiral galaxy. The galaxy’s red and orange spiral arms bending outward can measure tens or even hundreds of light-years across.
The full galaxy measures an incredible 76,900 light-years across. While this is an enormous size for any object or region, our own Milky Way galaxy measures over 100,000 light-years in diameter. But size and distances get fairly massive when we’re talking on a cosmic scale. The Whirlpool Galaxy is a whopping 31 million light-years away from our own, but it’s still considered one of our closer neighbors.
Something that has made the Whirlpool Galaxy beloved is its visibility. With an apparent magnitude of +8.4, skywatchers and amateur astronomers using small telescopes or even just binoculars are able to spot the galaxy and its spiral shape.