James Webb Space Telescope gazes into the Whirlpool galaxy's hypnotic spiral arms (photos)

[Judi Lynn]

By Monisha Ravisetti published about 2 hours ago

In 2011, scientists imaging M51 with Hubble hoped to capture the galaxy with the JWST one day. That day has arrived.



M51 — also known as NGC 5194 — lies about 27 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici, and is trapped in a tumultuous relationship with its near neighbour, the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195. (Image credit: JWST)



With a hypnotic new image released on Tuesday (Aug. 29), the James Webb Space Telescope allows us to gaze within a spiral galaxy floating some 27 million light-years away from Earth.

It's a vibrant snapshot representing a realm named M51 (also known as NGC 5194 or the Whirlpool galaxy) that brilliantly captures the rocky relationship this galaxy has with its nearby neighbor, a dwarf galaxy named NGC 5195. It is, in fact, partially because of this galactic interaction that M51 may have such an ornate pattern in the first place.

"The gravitational influence of M51's smaller companion is thought to be partially responsible for the stately nature of the galaxy's prominent and distinct spiral arms," the European Space Agency said in a statement about the visual.

And on the note of those stunning spiral arms, one intriguing fact about M51 is its winding structure dubs it a "grand-design" galaxy rather than just a standard spiral galaxy.

More:
https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-captures-vortex-whirlpool-galaxy