Spiral Galaxy M74: A Sharper View
Explanation:
Beautiful spiral galaxy
Messier 74
(also known as NGC 628) lies some 32 million light-years away
toward the constellation Pisces.
An island universe of about 100 billion stars
with two prominent spiral arms, M74 has long been admired by astronomers as a
perfect example
of a grand-design spiral galaxy.
M74's central region is
brought into a stunning, sharp focus in this
recently processed image
using
publicly
available data
from the
James Webb Space Telescope.
The colorized combination of image data sets is from two of Webb's
instruments
NIRcam
and
MIRI,
operating at near- and mid-infrared wavelengths.
It reveals cooler stars and dusty structures
in the grand-design spiral galaxy
only hinted at in previous
space-based
views.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
