Webb Telescope Captures Imaginary Pictures of the Cartwheel Galaxy

NASA and the European Space Agency released their latest captivating images from the James Webb Space Telescope on Tuesday, revealing the colorful spinning ring of the Cartwheel Galaxy with unprecedented clarity.

The James Webb Space Telescope was able to see through time these images amidst huge amounts of dust to show new snapshots of the Chariot Wheel Galaxy, while revealing the colorful spinning galaxy with unprecedented clarity, according to Agence France-Presse.

The galaxy is located about 500 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Sculptor, and acquired its shape during an amazing direct collision between two galaxies.

In a joint statement, NASA and the European Space Agency said the impact sent two rings expanding from the galactic center “like ripples in a pond after a stone was thrown into it.”

The statement added that a smaller white ring is still closer to the center of the galaxy, while the outer ring, with its color, has been expanding in the universe about 440 million years ago.

As the outer ring expands, it turns into gas, which leads to the formation of new stars.

The Hubble telescope had previously taken pictures of the rare ring galaxy, which is believed to have been a spiral galaxy like our Milky Way before it was collided with a smaller intruder galaxy.

But the Webb Telescope, which was launched in December 2021 and revealed its first images in a global furor last month, has a much wider scope.

NASA and the European Space Agency said Webb’s ability to detect infrared light allowed it to see “the huge amount of hot dust” obscuring the view of the Cartwheel galaxy.

They added that this revealed new details about the formation of stars in the galaxy, as well as the behavior of the supermassive black hole in its core.

It was also able to detect areas rich in hydrocarbons and other chemicals, as well as dust-like dust on Earth.

Behind the Cartwheel Galaxy, two smaller galaxies shine brightly, while more galaxies can be seen behind them.

The space agencies said the observations show that the Cartwheel galaxy is still in a “very transitional phase”.

“While Webb gives us a glimpse into the current state of the wheel, it also provides insight into what happened to this galaxy in the past and how it will evolve in the future.”