The image of a purple spiral galaxy named NGC 628, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, is attracting the curiosity of astrophysicists around the world.
Purple spiral galaxy captured by the James Webb Telescope – (Image: NASA)
This is considered a rare image of a spiral galaxy with vivid colors, a first in nearly two decades from NASA.
“When you look at this image, you can see blue stars, red stars, or even dust particles,” exclaimed Dr. Gabriel Brammer, an astronomer at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark). “We are truly seeing the image of gas and dust in this galaxy, not just the stars.”
“This is the first time we have found an image of a purple spiral galaxy. It looks more like a horrifying optical whirlpool from a Marvel movie than the familiar spiral shape seen through traditional telescopes,” Dr. Brammer expressed.
Previously, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope also captured an image of a spiral galaxy similar to the purple galaxy captured by the James Webb Telescope, which was also named NGC 28. However, NASA noted that this galaxy resembles the Milky Way more closely.
Image of NGC 628 galaxy captured by NASA’s Hubble Telescope – (Image: NASA)
According to The Independent, scientists are still working hard to find other galaxies outside of Earth using space telescopes. However, the James Webb Telescope’s capture of the purple spiral galaxy is drawing significant attention from the astrophysics community.
“We have been waiting for decades to witness a galaxy image with vivid colors like this purple NGC 628. It is truly spectacular,” Dr. Bremmer stated.
According to NASA, the James Webb Telescope captured the image of the purple spiral galaxy on July 17, 2022. The image was then sent back to Earth via the Barbara Mikulski Space Telescope Archive. Users can access this open archive to view the latest images of NASA’s cosmic discoveries, captured by either the James Webb or Hubble Space Telescopes.
