It seems like every few weeks, NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) drop an impressive image from the James Webb Space Telescope that is both stunning to behold and advances our knowledge of the universe. The latest is of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, called a "barred" galaxy because of the bright central bar you can see in the upper left of the above image. It's a combination image consisting of infrared shots taken from the telescope's MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) sensors.
What those sensors captured is a galaxy in the Virgo constellation about 20 million light-years from Earth, and because the JWST can see through the dust and gas that surrounds stars as they're born, the instrument is particularly suited to producing images that show the process of star formation.
Looking at the two individual images that make up the composite reveals different layers of the galaxy. As Gizmodo notes, the image produced by the MIRI sensor provides a view of the galaxy's structure and the glowing gas bubbles that represent newly formed stars.
The second image, taken from the NIRCam, put the focus on a huge swath of stars in the foreground. The composite, meanwhile, shows both the enormous amount of stars in the region as well as the highlights of the stars that have just been "born."
There isn't one specific breakthrough finding in this image; instead, NASA notes that this is part of a wider effort to collect as many images of star formation from nearby galaxies as it can. (No, 20 million light-years doesn't exactly feel nearby to me, either, but that's how things go in space.) NASA pointed to another few images as other "gems" from its collection of star births, including this impressive "Phantom Galaxy" that was shown off last summer. As for what the agency hopes to learn? Simply that star formation "underpins so many fields in astronomy, from the physics of the tenuous plasma that lies between stars to the evolution of entire galaxies." NASA goes on to say that it hopes the data being gathered of galaxies like NGC 5068 can help to "kick-start" major scientific advances, though what those might be remains a mystery.
Toronto police have identified a man who plunged to his death from an eighth-floor balcony downtown late Wednesday in the city's latest homicide.Ryan Williams, 38, of Toronto, fell from a balcony just before midnight at a highrise in the area of Church and Shuter streets, police said in a news release on Thursday.Paramedics say they transported a man to a trauma centre. He was pronounced dead in hospital, according to police.Williams is the city's 24th homicide victim of the year.Police have sai
Don't laugh off the former president just because he is unhinged. He controls the Republican Party from the MAGA trenches to the halls of Congress and the high court.
Sabrina Carpenter went braless wearing the Mirror Palais Anemone Dress in butter featuring illusion tulle adorned with lace appliqués along the neckline and hem
Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesWhen Manhattan District Attorney prosecutors called their second witness in Donald Trump’s criminal case on Friday, they wanted the jury to note who is paying for the lawyers for this prosecution witness: Trump.Rhona Graff, who served as Donald Trump’s executive assistant and so-called gatekeeper for 34 years, was called by prosecutors on Friday to testify in her former boss’ criminal hush-money trial. And almost immediately, Assistant District Attorney S
When the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rules on Donald Trump's claim of presidential immunity from prosecution, a third of those deciding the matter will be justices he appointed to their lifetime posts. Those three - Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch - posed questions from various angles as the nation's top judicial body heard arguments on Thursday in a case that provides a vital test of the power of the presidency. A key question, Gorsuch said, is "how to segregate private from official conduct that may or may not enjoy some immunity."
NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s highest court on Thursday threw out Harvey Weinstein ’s 2020 rape conviction with a ruling that shocked and disappointed women who celebrated historic gains during the #MeToo era and left those who testified in the case bracing for a retrial against the ex-movie mogul. The court found the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren’t part of the case. Weinstein, 72, will remain in prison because he was convicted in Los Angel
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis may have inspired their grandfather's latest photo choice to mark the first anniversary of his coronation
The Ehattesaht First Nation says a killer whale calf that had been trapped in a remote Vancouver Island lagoon for more than a month is now free after it swam out on its own early Friday morning.The nation said kʷiisaḥiʔis, or Brave Little Hunter, swam over the sandbar and out into open water during high tide around 2:30 a.m. PT.After a long night of feeding kʷiisaḥiʔis and watching the calf play in the lagoon, the nation said, a small group "stood as witnesses to watch her swim under the bridge
Inside a garage in an established Edmonton neighbourhood, animals were being slaughtered and the meat was advertised for sale to consumers, a CBC News investigation has learned.Police entered the rented garage in the quiet residential Woodcroft community in February 2023. Images shared with CBC News show piles of goat carcasses, tubs of blood and the remains of a skinned baby goat on a makeshift slaughter table.Neighbour John Bos told CBC News that the sounds of bleating goats first alerted him