The barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068 is responsible for the beautiful tapestry of dust and brilliant stars visible in this James Webb Space Telescope photograph. It lies about 17 million light-years away from our planet in the constellation Virgo and its “bar” is visible in the upper left of this image.
The photograph was made public by the European Space Agency on Friday as part of an effort to gather an astronomical treasure trove. This “treasure trove,” as the ESA calls it, is a collection of information on star formation in nearby galaxies.
The Webb observations are based on research done with other telescopes, including as the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and possibly some of the most advanced ground-based observatories in the world.
The Webb observations are based on research done with other telescopes, including as the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and possibly some of the most advanced ground-based observatories in the world.