NASA’s next-generation James Webb Space Telescope is once again up to great achievements. Using one of its most powerful tools, the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (aka MIRI), Webb captured the IC 5332 spiral galaxy in unprecedented detail.
The galaxy is located far enough from our planet to make us cancel any possible travel plans we might have to it: 29 million light-years away. The new picture of the galaxy was compared to one captured in ultraviolet and visible light by the good ol’ Hubble Space Telescope using its Wide Field Camera.
Hubble and @NASAWebb teamed up for a galactic group project!
The two telescopes’ complementary views highlight different aspects of this gorgeous spiral galaxy, IC 5332.
Hubble’s image (left) in ultraviolet and visible light shows distinct spiral arms: https://t.co/RX0Zqg1wcG pic.twitter.com/xYmAiQuMhi
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) September 27, 2022
The two images show different stars, as not each telescope detects the same wavelengths.
Through Webb’s official Twitter account, scientists explain more about what’s happening:
Space, but make it goth! ????️
If this new image from Webb’s mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) looks dark & moody, that’s because things look different in this light than what you may be used to. These are the “bones” of galaxy IC 5332, usually hidden by dust:
Space, but make it goth! ????️
If this new image from Webb’s mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) looks dark & moody, that's because things look different in this light than what you may be used to. These are the "bones” of galaxy IC 5332, usually hidden by dust: https://t.co/UEENdXZMdk pic.twitter.com/4HYFrgi98j
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) September 27, 2022
The European Space Agency (ESA) explained as CNET quotes:
Those same dusty regions are no longer dark in the Webb image, however, as the mid-infrared light from the galaxy has been able to pass through them.
The IC 5332 galaxy measures about 66,000 light-years in its diameter, which makes the space object significantly smaller than the Milky Way. The latter measures over 100,000 light-years in diameter.
Almost a week ago, the James Webb Space Telescope published the clearest image of Neptune that astronomers had in over three decades. The picture even shows the rings of the ice giant in all their glory. Similar to Saturn and Jupiter, the two ice giants from our Solar System, meaning Uranus and Neptune, also have rings of dust and rocks.
After a long wait and many delays, NASA managed to launch the James Webb Space Telescope in space last year on Christmas.
