While the Hubble Space Telescope
(HST) has previously looked at the Cartwheel, dust obscured its view.
This image from Webb’s
Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) shows a group of galaxies, including a large
distorted ring-shaped galaxy known as the Cartwheel.
This image from Webb’s
Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) shows a group of galaxies, including a large
distorted ring-shaped galaxy known as the Cartwheel. (Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA,
STScI, Webb ERO Production Team)
"NIRCam also reveals the
difference between the smooth distribution or shape of the older star
populations and dense dust in the core compared to the clumpy shapes associated
with the younger star populations outside of it," the agency said in a
release with the image.
The Mid-Infrared Instrument
(MIRI) reveals regions in the Cartwheel Galaxy that form the spiraling spokes
much more prominently.
What looks much like craggy
mountains on a moonlit evening is actually the edge of a nearby, young,
star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula.
What looks much like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. (IMAGE: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI)
"Webb’s observations
underscore that the Cartwheel is in a very transitory stage. The galaxy, which
was presumably a normal spiral galaxy like the Milky Way before its collision,
will continue to transform," NASA said. "While Webb gives us a
snapshot of the current state of the Cartwheel, it also provides insight into
what happened to this galaxy in the past and how it will evolve in the future."
The first images from the
international observatory, including the wondrous cosmic cliffs of the Carina
Nebula, were released last month.