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NIRCam image of the galaxy M51. A large spiral galaxy takes up the entirety of the image. The core is mostly bright white, but there are also swirling, detailed structures that resemble water circling a drain. There is white and pale blue light that emanates from stars and dust at the core’s centre, but it is tightly limited to the core. The rings feature colours of deep red and orange, which are surrounded by cloudier regions of white and grey, with regions of black surrounding the distinct narrow spiral arms.

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NIRCam image of the galaxy M51. A large spiral galaxy takes up the entirety of the image. The core is mostly bright white, but there are also swirling, detailed structures that resemble water circling a drain. There is white and pale blue light that emanates from stars and dust at the core’s centre, but it is tightly limited to the core. The rings feature colours of deep red and orange, which are surrounded by cloudier regions of white and grey, with regions of black surrounding the distinct narrow spiral arms.
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Kelly Lepo (kellylepo@astrodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 30-Aug-2023 10:30:30 JST Kelly Lepo

ESA just released some beautiful #JWST images of M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy.
In the near-infrared image, dark red features trace the filamentary warm dust, while colors of red, orange, and yellow show gas ionized by recently formed star clusters.
In the mid-infrared image, dust grains and molecules glow, heated by starlight. Empty cavities and bright filaments alternate, giving the impression of ripples propagating from the spiral arms.
More https://esawebb.org/images/potm2308c/
#Astronomy #Space #Galaxy

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