Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
Shall I compare thee to the Webb Space Telescope’s latest image drop? Well, for starters, thou art less ancient and far less spectacular. The new collection of 19 images reveal face-on spiral galaxies, meaning they are oriented toward Webb’s perceptive gaze. The shots were taken as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project, which is collecting data on 74 spiral galaxies.
To us, the galaxies may simply appear to be stupendous feats of nature: luminous kaleidoscopes of gas and dust, with cores so bright we cannot make out the secrets that lie in their centers. For astronomers, Webb images—taken by its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI)—help provide answers as to how galaxies take shape.
“They’re mind-blowing even for researchers who have studied these same galaxies for decades,” said Janice Lee, a project scientist for strategic initiatives at the Space Telescope Science Institute, in a release. “Bubbles and filaments are resolved down to the smallest scales ever observed, and tell a story about the star formation cycle.”
Proceed and behold some of the most dazzling galactic imagery ever.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
Galaxy IC 5332 is a spiral galaxy 30 million light-years from Earth. It is densely populated with stars.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
NGC 628, a spiral galaxy whose shape is more pronounced than IC 5332's. NGC 628 is 32 million light-years away, in the constellation Pisces.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
A fan favorite (it’s me, I’m the fan): the spiral galaxy NGC 1087. This luminous orange structure is about 80 million light-years away. Its core is bright, though individual arms of the spiral galaxy are difficult to spot.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
This galaxy is particularly wicked, looking every bit like giant cosmic eye. 69 million light-years away, in the constellation Eridanus, the barred spiral galaxy has a bright center, surrounded by S-shaped arms.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
This smattering of orange filaments and a bluish glow emanates from the spiral galaxy NGC 1365, 56 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
The “messy” (according to ESA) spiral galaxy NGC 1385 is closer than many recently imaged in PHANGS; it is just 30 million light-years from Earth. Indeed, the galaxy’s arms are basically impossible to make out. It looks more like a large clump of gas and glittering stars.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
“Surely,” you may say, “this is a mural made for a laser tag arena.” But no—it is a Webb image of the spiral galaxy NGC 1433, 46 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Horologium. The galaxy’s center is a bright white splotch surrounded by a yellowish oval.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
We’re getting to the point where every image is more spectacular than the last. NGC 1512 is the spitting image of order compared to some of the messy spiral galaxies on this list. Also in the constellation Horologium, this galaxy’s face-on center is nearly a circle, out of which spiral arms stretch out toward the dense, oval ring of material.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
60 million light-years away, the spiral galaxy NGC 1566 consists of a bright bluish-white core and counterclockwise fiery arcs—the spiral arms extend from the galaxy’s center.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
That glittery cosmic gemstone is the heart of NGC 1672, a spiral galaxy 60 million light-years from Earth. If you need a new desktop wallpaper, I recommend it.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
This galaxy is a bit more jumbled than others on the list, but its spiral arms are still visible if you squint.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
One of the best of the bunch, no? 33 million light-years away, in the constellation Leo, NGC 3351 is a remarkable yellow oval surrounded by its filamentous orange arms.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
I rotated this one (you can see the original here), but the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3627 looks stupendous either way. The blue core of the galaxy is surrounded by a swirl of stars and dust.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
A densely populated spiral galaxy 50 million light-years from Earth.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
This close look at a swath of NGC 4303 shows the galaxy’s center (right) and its yellow-orange tendrils of material to the left.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
A similar view to the previous slide, this image shows NGC 4321's center at right and a bedazzlement of stars in swirls of gas and dust at left.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
NGC 4535's center is bright yellow. Its bar structure is almost vertical in this view (squint a bit and you’ll see it.) The S-shaped arms spread outwards from the galactic center.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
This galaxy is just 20 million light-years from Earth. A gossamer of orange material, it looks more like a mishmash of space stuff than a spiral galaxy.
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee (STScI), T. Williams (Oxford), PHANGS Team
Another galactic structure reminiscent of an eye, this galaxy is 24 million light-years away, in the constellation Gru. So many pretty spirals in space. Which galaxy is your favorite?
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