![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Spiral-galaxy-NGC-5134-is-65-million-light-years-away-in-constellation-Virgo-NASAESACSA-SWNS.jpg\")
Spiral galaxy NGC 5134 in the constellation Virgo is 65 million light-years away \u2013NASA\/ESA\/CSA via SWNS<\/p>\n Spiral galaxy NGC 5134 in the constellation Virgo is 65 million light-years away \u2013NASA\/ESA\/CSA via SWNS<\/p>\n
Light which emanated from a spiral galaxy at the same time the Tyrannosaurus rex was dying out on Earth was captured in striking detail by the James Webb Space Telescope.<\/p>\n
Two instruments aboard the Webb observatory have combined to create a jaw-dropping image revealing the structure of NGC 5134, the spiral galaxy 65 million light\u2011years away.<\/p>\n
\u201cNGC 5134 is fairly close by, as far as galaxies go,\u201d said a statement from NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough 65 million light-years may seem like a huge distance, the light that Webb collected to create this image has been journeying to us from since soon after Tyrannosaurus rex went extinct.\u201d<\/p>\n
The image, captured last month<\/a> on February 20, offers a view from the deep past. Studying \u201cnearby galaxies\u201d like NGC 5134, which is in the Virgo constellation, is aiding astronomers in their understanding of far more distant systems that appear only as faint points of light.<\/p>\n The relative proximity of the star system allowed two of Webb\u2019s powerful cameras to join forces to pick out fine detail in the galaxy\u2019s tightly wound arms.<\/p>\n CHECK OUT THIS WILD PLANET:<\/strong> The Lemon-Shaped Planet Where Rain Turns to Diamonds<\/a><\/p>\n Webb\u2019s mid-infrared instrument, a versatile camera\/spectrograph, shows warm dust and complex molecules across the galaxy\u2019s clouds, while its near-infrared camera, the primary imaging instrument onboard, highlights the stars and clusters embedded within them.<\/p>\n NGC 5134, which was first discovered in 1785 by German-British astronomer William Herschel, has a possible \u201cactive galactic nucleus\u201d\u2014a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars.<\/p>\n Within this scenic galaxy view, we see the gas clouds that billow along its spiral arms. These are the sites of star formation, and each star that forms chips away at the galaxy\u2019s supply of star-forming gas. When stars die, they recycle some of that gas back into the galaxy.<\/p>\n HABITABLE PLANET?<\/strong> Webb Space Telescope\u2019s First Look at an Atmosphere on Habitable Zone Exoplanet<\/a><\/p>\n This give and take between gas and stars is the focus of a NASA\/ESA\/CSA program that aims to study 55 galaxies in the nearby Universe that are actively forming new stars using a broad range of wavelengths. (See NASA\u2019s higher resolution version <\/a>of the photo, here.)<\/p>\n \u201cThe new Webb data contribute a rich understanding of individual star clusters and star-forming clouds and have already been used to study the life cycle of tiny dust grains, the shape and properties of star-forming clouds, the links between interstellar gas and dust, and the process by which newly formed stars reshape their surrounding environment,\u201d reports NASA.<\/p>\n