Webb’s holiday card sorted! 🎄
NGC 7469 is like a cosmic wreath bursting with new stars. This galaxy is very dusty, but Webb’s infrared vision can peer through to observe features like the intense ring of star formation close around its bright center.
What are those large spikes? They’re not real objects, but diffraction spikes, an effect of very bright light interacting with the telescope mirrors. Here the center of the galaxy is extremely bright due to light emitted by heated dust and gas falling into the central black hole.
Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, L. Armus, A. S. Evans
#universe #webb
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