NASA reveals stunning new image of Cartwheel Galaxy from world's most powerful telescope
3 August 2022, 13:20 | Updated: 3 August 2022, 13:23
NASA has shared fresh images of the Cartwheel Galaxy alongside two companion galaxies created from an intergalactic collision.
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The James Webb Space Telescope has produced several detailed pictures since it was first launched in December, including the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date.
The latest images produced by the space science observatory shows the "rare sight" that is the Cartwheel Galaxy, revealing a snapshot of its past and future as well as its current state.
Researchers said the shape of the galaxy "is the result of an intense event – a high-speed collision between a large spiral galaxy and a smaller galaxy not visible in this image."
They added: "Collisions of galactic proportions cause a cascade of different, smaller events between the galaxies involved; the Cartwheel is no exception."
Read more: NASA reveals 'deepest' image of universe using world's most powerful telescope
Read more: NASA releases stunning new images from James Webb Space Telescope
The collision has affected both the shape and structure of the galaxy, NASA explained.
It has two rings - a bright inner ring and a surrounding ring - which expand from the centre of the collision "like ripples in a pond".
"The bright core contains a tremendous amount of hot dust with the brightest areas being the home to gigantic young star clusters," NASA said.
"On the other hand, the outer ring, which has expanded for about 440 million years, is dominated by star formation and supernovas. As this ring expands, it plows into surrounding gas and triggers star formation."
Astronomers have labelled the structure a "ring galaxy", which is much less common than spiral galaxies like the Milky Way.
Researchers believe it may have started off as a spiral galaxy before its collision and is likely to change formation again over time.
The "dramatic" galaxy has previously been a mystery to the space agency due to large amounts of dust obscuring the view in previous images.
The James Webb Telescope is considered the successor to the highly successful, but aging, Hubble Space Telescope.
Hubble has stared as far back as 13.4 billion years.
