NASA published this Tuesday a impressive image of a galaxy located 500 million light years awaythe Wagon Wheel Galaxy, whose rings are seen with unprecedented clarity thanks to the new James Webb Space Telescope.
Like our Milky Way, astronomers believe that the Wagonwheel Galaxy it was once a spiral galaxy. But a spectacular event gave it its shape: the collision with another smaller galaxy (not visible in the image).
Two rings formed from the center of the collision, similar to the ripples in concentric circles caused by a pebble dropped into water. This is what gave it its evocative name.
The first ring, more to the center, is very bright, and the second, on the outside, has been expanding for 440 million years. And, as the ring expands, it collides with surrounding gas, triggering star formation.
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This galaxy had already been observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, but the infrared capabilities of James Webb reveal new details that were previously hiddenallowing you to see through a large amount of dust.
The composite image, derived from observations by two of the telescope’s science instruments, also includes two other smaller galaxiesas well as many others in the background.
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The Galaxy Wagon Wheel It is still in a “transitional” state, according to NASA in its statement. Although the James Webb Telescope “provides us with a view of (its) current state, it also gives us an idea of what has happened to it in the past, and how it will evolve in the future.”
The $10 billion James Webb Telescope was launched into space about seven months ago and It is located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.