Spiral galaxy's brilliant heart shines bright in a new picture from NASA's Webb telescope
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A spiral galaxy’s brilliant heart outshines everything within sight in a new picture from NASA’s Webb Space Telescope.
The image released this week depicts the Messier 77 galaxy 45 million light-years away in the Cetus, or whale, constellation. A light year is about 6 trillion miles.
The galaxy’s active nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole that’s 8 million times more massive than the sun. Surrounding gas is sucked into a tight orbit around the black hole, becoming so hot that it radiates in the extreme. Webb’s mid-infrared instrument captured the stunning details.
The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope has been photographing the cosmos since launching in 2021.
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