NASA has released stunning images of the Cartwheel Galaxy, located about 500 million light-years away. The image was captured by the powerful next-generation James Webb Space Telescope.
©Provided by DNA
Webb, using its infrared cameras, produced a detailed image of the Cartwheel and two smaller companion galaxies against a backdrop of many other galaxies. The Cartwheel Galaxy, located about 500 million light-years away in the Sculptor constellation, is a rare sight appearing much like that of the wheel of a wagon.
The Cartwheel Galaxy sports two rings -- a bright inner ring and a surrounding, colourful ring. These two rings expand outwards from the centre of the collision, like ripples in a pond after a stone is tossed into it. Because of these distinctive features, astronomers call this a "ring galaxy," a structure less common than spiral galaxies like our Milky Way.
The bright core contains a tremendous amount of hot dust with the brightest areas being the home to gigantic young star clusters. On the other hand, the outer ring, which has expanded for about 440 million years, is dominated by star formation and supernovas.
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