nasa phantom galaxy james webb space telescope image
The NASA James Webb Space Telescope captured the image of M74, the 'heart' of the Phantom Galaxy. This stunning image reveals delicate filaments of gas and dust in the galaxy's spiral arms.
What is Phantom GalaxyMessier 74 is also known as Phantom Galaxy and NGC 628. It is a large spiral galaxy located in the equatorial constellation Pisces. Messier 74 is about 32 million light years away from Earth.
This galaxy has two clearly defined spiral arms, so it is used as an example of a grandly designed spiral galaxy. It is estimated that M74 hosts about 100 billion stars.
The Webb Telescope observed M74 with its Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). This will help scientists learn more about the early stages of star formation in the universe.
These Webb observations are part of the PHANGS (Physics at High Angular Resolution in Nearby Galaxies) collaboration efforts to study neighboring star-forming galaxies.
These observations by the NASA James Webb Space Telescope will be used by astronomers to measure the mass and ages of star clusters.
The Phantom Galaxy has been professionally imaged several times before by space observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).
James Webb imagery differs from these previous efforts in the mid-infrared range that highlights cosmic dust. This lack of gas at the center of the galaxy also provides a view of the nuclear star cluster.
M74 was discovered by Pierre Méchen in 1780. Three supernovae are known to occur within it— SN 2002ap, SN 2003 GD, and SN 2013 EJ.