The James Webb Telescope Captured the Glowing Cartwheel
On August 2, 2022, the NASA space agency published a snapshot of the Cartwheel Galaxy, located in the constellation Sculptor. The photographs were taken by the James Webb telescope, which began scientific work in July.
The Cartwheel is located about 500 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Sculptor and is an extremely rare sight.
Its wheel-like appearance was formed by a high-speed collision between a large spiral galaxy and a smaller galaxy, which is not visible in this image.
Collisions on a galactic scale cause a cascade of different, smaller events between galaxies.
NASA noted that other telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, have tried to explore the Cartwheel but have been unsuccessful because the galaxy is obscured by a nearly impenetrable layer of dust.
The Webb telescope, with its ability to detect infrared light, has given researchers new insights into the nature of the Cartwheel.
The latest images suggest that the Cartwheel appears to have been a spiral galaxy before the collision, and it will continue to transform in the future.
