NASA/ESA/CSA's James Webb Space Telescope observed IC 5332 Galaxy in unprecedented detail with its Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).
IC 5332 is also known as PGC 71775. It is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years away.
The diameter of the IC 5332 Galaxy is about 66,000 light-years (whereas our Milky-Way Galaxy is over 100,000 light-years in diameter).
Earlier the picture of IC 5332 Galaxy was taken by Hubble Telescope. NASA has shown the pictures of both telescopes in comparison.
A clear difference can be seen between the image taken by the Hubble Telescope of IC 5332 and the image taken by James Webb.
The Hubble image shows dark regions of dust between the spiral arms of IC 5332, which appear to separate the spiral arms.
While the James Webb image shows a continuous tangle of structures that echo the shape of the spiral arms.
The same dusty areas in the James Webb image are no longer dark, because Webb's mid-infrared light is able to pass through the dust.
Different stars are visible in both images, which can be explained as some stars shine brighter in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared regimes, respectively.
Different stars also shine at different wavelengths, so some stars are clearer in Hubble's view, while other stars are more visible with James Webb.
In this way both the images are complementing each other in a remarkable way. Each image tells us more about the structure of IC 5332.
James Webb MIRIThe Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) is one of four high-tech instruments on James Webb, a joint camera and spectrograph, that take both images and light spectra of the distant universe.
An expert in detecting mid-infrared wavelengths, MIRI can see light from distant galaxies, as well as stars forming inside the dust cover.
MIRI consists of both a camera and a spectrograph, which observes light in the mid-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. It works on the wavelength range of 5 to 28 microns.
James Webb's other three instruments—NIRCam, NIRSpec and FGS/NIRISS—rely on the telescope's tennis-court-sized sunshield, to reach temperatures of -223°Celsius.
MIRI, in addition to the sunshield, requires special cryocoolers to achieve an even colder temperature of -266°C, only 7°C above absolute zero, the temperature at which the motion of atoms stops.
Obtaining observations in the mid-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum is very challenging. It is extremely difficult to observe from the mid-infrared Earth.
Because most of it is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. The heat from the Earth's atmosphere complicates things further.
Hubble could not observe the mid-infrared region because its mirrors were not cold enough. That is, the infrared radiation from the mirrors themselves dominates any attempted observations.
Because MIRI's detectors have the cold environment necessary to operate properly, the effects of which are evident in this stunning image of IC 5332.