NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope
has taken a new look at the starburst galaxy Messier 82.
Located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major,
this galaxy hosts a lot of star formation activity,
sprouting new stars 10 times faster than our own Milky Way.
Star formation is hidden by dense curtains of dust and gas,
but Webb can see through these murky conditions
by peering in infrared light.
Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera, or NIRCam,
pointed toward the starburst galaxy’s center,
to get a better look at a vibrant community
of new stars in unprecedented detail.
Every single white dot in this image is either a star, or a star cluster.
Clumpy red tendrils can be seen extending
above and below the galaxy’s plane.
Looking closer toward the center, small green specks
represent concentrated areas of iron,
most of which are the dense remains of exploded stars
called supernova remnants.
Small patches that appear red signify regions where molecular
hydrogen is being lit up by a nearby young star’s radiation.
Using Webb to Inspect the activity in galaxies like these can deepen
astronomers’ understanding of the early universe by getting a closer
look at the physical conditions that foster the formation of new stars.