Jakarta (ANTARA) – The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a new image of the Cartwheel Galaxy which shows a rotating ring of color in a clearer image, NASA and ESA said on Tuesday (2/8) local time, quoted by AFP on Wednesday.
Located about 500 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Sculptor, the Cartwheel formed from a spectacular collision between two galaxies.
The US Space Agency (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) said the collision caused two rings to extend from the center of the galaxy, like ripples in a pond after a rock was thrown into it.
The smaller white ring remains closer to the galactic center. While the outer ring, with its colored radius, has been expanding into the universe for about 440 million years. As the outer ring expands, it turns into gas, triggering the formation of new stars.
The Hubble Telescope has previously captured rare images of the ring galaxy, which is believed to be a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way before being hit by a smaller galaxy.
But the Webb telescope has a much larger range. Webb launched in December 2021 and had revealed its first images to the world last month.
Webb’s ability to detect infrared light allows him to gaze through the tremendous amount of hot dust that obscures the Cartwheel Galaxy’s view, NASA and ESA said.
The Webb telescope reveals new details about star formation in galaxies, as well as the behavior of the supermassive black hole at its heart. Webb was also able to detect areas rich in hydrocarbons and other chemicals, as well as dust similar to dust on Earth.
Behind the Cartwheel, two smaller galaxies shine brightly, while more galaxies can be seen behind them. According to the space agency, observations show that the Cartwheel Galaxy is still in a “very temporary stage.
“While Webb gives us an idea 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 space agency said.
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