NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has unveiled a stunning collection of 19 images, showcasing galaxies filled with stars and revealing evidence of supermassive black holes. These images, captured in near- and mid-infrared light, demonstrate Webb’s remarkable capabilities to explore distant corners of the universe. Janice Lee from the Space Telescope Science Institute described the images as “mind-blowing,” highlighting the intricate details of bubbles, filaments, and the star formation cycle. Webb’s high-resolution images, taken with the NIRCam and MIRI instruments, display millions of stars, star clusters, and regions of glowing dust. Scientists believe some galaxy cores with pink-and-red diffraction spikes indicate the presence of active supermassive black holes. This contribution to the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program will help astronomers understand the processes of star formation and the evolution of spiral galaxies. As researchers delve into these images, the telescope continues to be a valuable tool for exploring the cosmos, offering unprecedented views of planets, galaxies, and stars since its launch in 2021. Last year, Webb’s observations facilitated discoveries such as mysterious star-orbiting exoplanets and evidence of a potential ocean world larger than Earth. The telescope has also played a crucial role in revealing insights into ancient black holes, including the identification of the oldest black hole, formed 470 million years after the Big Bang.
