Images From The James Webb Space Telescope That Make Us Marvel At The Universe

This image of the Cartwheel Galaxy (also known as ESO 350-40) is a composite from JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). MIRI brings us the red (dust containing hydrocarbons), while NIRCam presents us with the blues, oranges, and yellows. The blue dots are stars and star nurseries.

In a press release, NASA explains why this galaxy possesses such a unique "cartwheel" shape:

This galaxy formed as the result of a high-speed collision that occurred about 400 million years ago. The Cartwheel is composed of two rings, a bright inner ring and a colorful outer ring. Both rings expand outward from the center of the collision like shockwaves.

However, despite the impact, much of the character of the large, spiral galaxy that existed before the collision remains, including its rotating arms. This leads to the “spokes” that inspired the name of the Cartwheel Galaxy, which are the bright red streaks seen between the inner and outer rings. These brilliant red hues, located not only throughout the Cartwheel, but also the companion spiral galaxy at the top left, are caused by glowing, hydrocarbon-rich dust.

This image the Cartwheel Galaxy also includes a view of its three companion galaxies: G1 (the irregular-shaped galaxy in the upper left), G2 (the spiral galaxy beneath it), and G3 (the distant galaxy on the far right of the image).

The original Pillars of Creation, taken by NASA's Hubble telescope in 1995, is arguably one of the most famous deep space images. Now the JWST has taken a crack at this evocative corner of space, offering an even more detailed look at these columns of hydrogen gas.

You may notice the red, lava-like glow at the edges of several pillars. As NASA explains, these red spots are “ejections” from incubating stars:

Young stars periodically shoot out supersonic jets that collide with clouds of material, like these thick pillars. This sometimes also results in bow shocks, which can form wavy patterns like a boat does as it moves through water. The crimson glow comes from the energetic hydrogen molecules that result from jets and shocks. This is evident in the second and third pillars from the top – the NIRCam image is practically pulsing with their activity. These young stars are estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old.

The Pillars of Creation is located in the Eagle Nebula, about 6,500 light-years from Earth. The tallest of these pillars measures about 4 light-years across (meaning it could fit our solar system inside it several times over).

This side-by-side comparison offers a lavish example of how much more detail the JWST can capture than the Hubble. The top and bottom images depict the same region (NGC 3324) of the Carina Nebula, located in the constellation Carina. 

The Hubble image (top) is a composite of data collected in 2006 and 2008, which combines the light emitted by hydrogen (green), sulfur (red), and oxygen (blue) gases. Because the JWST image (bottom) was collected using infrared data, we can actually see through the gas into the stellar field beyond. From NASA:

Protostellar jets, which emerge clearly in this image, shoot out from some of these young stars. The youngest sources appear as red dots in the dark, dusty region of the cloud. Objects in the earliest, rapid phases of star formation are difficult to capture, but Webb’s extreme sensitivity, spatial resolution, and imaging capability can chronicle these elusive events. 

This view of five galaxies (also known as Hickson Compact Group 92) was woven together from nearly "1,000 separate image files." From NASA:

Sweeping tails of gas, dust and stars are being pulled from several of the galaxies due to gravitational interactions. Most dramatically, Webb’s MIRI instrument captures huge shock waves as one of the galaxies, NGC 7318B, smashes through the cluster.

Known as "Webb's First Deep Field," this glimpse into galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 contains thousands of galaxies, "including some seen when the universe was less than a billion years old." Because of the time it takes light to travel the vast distances of the universe, this image is what the cluster looked like 4.6 billion years ago.

One of the most amazing things about this image is that it took the JWST less than 13 hours to capture it. By comparison, similar deep field images taken by the Hubble telescope took weeks to piece together.

This side-by-side comparison of the Southern Ring Nebula taken by the Hubble and James Webb telescopes provides a striking contrast in detail. The Hubble image was released on November 5, 1998. The James Webb image dropped on July 12, 2022. 

The JWST image not only offers more detail of the nebula itself but the surrounding star field. NASA reports that the “transparent red sections of the planetary nebula – and all the areas outside it – are filled with distant galaxies.”