It seems like every few weeks, NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) drop an impressive image from the James Webb Space Telescope that is both stunning to behold and advances our knowledge of the universe. The latest is of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, called a "barred" galaxy because of the bright central bar you can see in the upper left of the above image. It's a combination image consisting of infrared shots taken from the telescope's MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) sensors.
What those sensors captured is a galaxy in the Virgo constellation about 20 million light-years from Earth, and because the JWST can see through the dust and gas that surrounds stars as they're born, the instrument is particularly suited to producing images that show the process of star formation.
Looking at the two individual images that make up the composite reveals different layers of the galaxy. As Gizmodo notes, the image produced by the MIRI sensor provides a view of the galaxy's structure and the glowing gas bubbles that represent newly formed stars.
The second image, taken from the NIRCam, put the focus on a huge swath of stars in the foreground. The composite, meanwhile, shows both the enormous amount of stars in the region as well as the highlights of the stars that have just been "born."
There isn't one specific breakthrough finding in this image; instead, NASA notes that this is part of a wider effort to collect as many images of star formation from nearby galaxies as it can. (No, 20 million light-years doesn't exactly feel nearby to me, either, but that's how things go in space.) NASA pointed to another few images as other "gems" from its collection of star births, including this impressive "Phantom Galaxy" that was shown off last summer. As for what the agency hopes to learn? Simply that star formation "underpins so many fields in astronomy, from the physics of the tenuous plasma that lies between stars to the evolution of entire galaxies." NASA goes on to say that it hopes the data being gathered of galaxies like NGC 5068 can help to "kick-start" major scientific advances, though what those might be remains a mystery.
President Biden gave the most important TV interview of his career Friday. Biden spoke to George Stephanopoulos of ABC News for 22 minutes during a campaign trip to Wisconsin. The conversation came with his presidency in real peril. There has been profound agitation among Democrats over Biden’s disastrous performance at his June 27 debate with…
BONFIELD, ONT. — Ontario Provincial Police say they found a large amount of lobster that had been dumped along a highway east of North Bay. Police say they received calls about lobster on the shoulder of Highway 17 in Bonfield on Tuesday. They say it was disposed of "for unknown reasons." Officers are reminding the public that it's illegal to litter or dump items along the highway. They say it can also cause safety issues when it attracts wildlife to the road. Police are asking anyone with infor
Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), said President Biden will not be elected to another term “one way or another.” “Joe Biden can step aside for another candidate or lose in historic numbers in a few months — but one way or another he will not be President soon and…
A thread of bombshell text messages made public Thursday alleged that Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign settled “multiple” seedy lawsuits for a man described only as “Boris,” leading to conjecture it could be a powerful Trumpworld figure.Those messages were revealed by A.J. Delgado—a former staffer on Trump’s 2016 campaign who’s embroiled in a lawsuit against the current campaign, alleging she was taken advantage of and raped by her former superior, Jason Miller.As part of that lawsuit, Delgado, a la
Media outlets and political pundits alike have ripped into Donald Trump after he claimed to have no knowledge about Project 2025.Amid growing calls to address the right-wing plan, which has seemingly emerged from the dark corners of the internet overnight, Trump took to Truth Social to deny his involvement in the plan in a way that left many scratching their heads.“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they're saying and some of th