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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Webb Captures Stellar Gymnastics in the Cartwheel Galaxy [webbtelescope.org]

The Cartwheel Galaxy, a rare ring galaxy once shrouded in dust and mystery, has been unveiled by the imaging capabilities of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

The galaxy, which formed as a result of a collision between a large spiral galaxy and another smaller galaxy, not only retained a lot of its spiral character, but has also experienced massive changes throughout its structure.

Webb's high-precision instruments resolved individual stars and star-forming regions within the Cartwheel, and revealed the behavior of the black hole within its galactic center. These new details provide a renewed understanding of a galaxy in the midst of a slow transformation.

Image downloads [webbtelescope.org]. Cartwheel Galaxy [wikipedia.org].

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