Just a few days ago, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope presented images of the mesmerizing Cartwheel Galaxy. The cosmic structure is located 500 million light-years away from us, and you may have already guessed the reason for its unique moniker. That’s right: it resembles a cartwheel!
If those photos of the Cartwheel Galaxy are exciting enough, surely the zoom-in footage that reveals the cosmic structure will leave you even more amazed! Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), as well as the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), made the image possible.
In late July, we shared similar footage of James Webb zooming deep into the Cosmos towards the Southern Ring Nebula.
JWST released the first full-color images of the Cosmos back in mid-July, spotting cosmic objects such as the Carina Nebula, Stephan’s Quintet, the Southern Ring Nebula, WASP-96b, and the SMACS 0723 cluster.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson released exhilarating statements at that time, and one of them says, as NASA quotes:
The Webb team’s incredible success is a reflection of what NASA does best. We take dreams and turn them into reality for the benefit of humanity. I can’t wait to see the discoveries that we uncover – the team is just getting started!
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is that astronomers still didn’t fully learn to use its total capacity.
Check out what this statement writes:
To realize the James Webb Space Telescope’s full science potential, it is imperative that the science community quickly learns to use its instruments and capabilities.
James Webb was launched by NASA back in late 2021 after many delays, and it seems that it was totally worth the long wait! We’re keeping an eye on the latest news about James Webb, so stay tuned!