SCIENCE

JWST snaps spectacular spiral galaxy

By Sanjana Shankar

1

Webb

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a brightly glowing spiral galaxy, called NGC 3256, lying about 120 million light-years away from Earth.

2

Cosmic clash

Despite its serene appearance, the spiral galaxy is the result of an ancient "cosmic clash" that happened 500 million years ago.

3

Galactic collision

NGC 3256, which lies in the constellation Vela, is the aftermath of a head-on collision between two spiral galaxies.

4

Star formation

The bright areas of orange and red across the NFC 3256 galaxy are home to several young stars that were birthed in the process of the galactic merger.

5

Findings

JWST makes observations in infrared light. It complements discoveries made by the Hubble Space Telescope, as is the case with the recently captured galaxy, NFC 3256.

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