NASA’s Webb Telescope captures ‘Phantom Galaxy’ in unprecedented detail
The Phantom galaxy captured by the James Webb Space Telescope is classified as a “grand design spiral,” which means that it has prominent and well-defined spiral arms.
Webb inspected the heart of the Phantom Galaxy. (Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team) The James Webb Telescope captured this image that shows the heart of the Phantom Galaxy, which is officially known as M74. The stunning image reveals the delicate filaments of gas and dust in the spiral arms of the galaxy. The lack of gas at the centre of the galaxy also provides a view of the nuclear star cluster.
The Phantom galaxy is classified as a “grand design spiral,” which means that it has prominent and well-defined spiral arms, which is not the case for all spiral galaxies as some have patchy and ragged structures.
M74 is approximately 32 million light-years away from Earth in the Pisces constellation. It also lies almost face-on to Earth. Its position with respect to our planet and its well-defined spiral arms makes it a great target for astronomers studying the origin and structure of galactic spirals.
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