James Webb Space Telescope gazes into a galactic garden of budding stars (image)

A view of a spiral-like structure with reds, oranges and a hint of blue.

This stunning spiral isn’t a gateway to the abyss. It’s the galaxy M83, as seen through the eyes of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). More specifically, the spaceborne observatory captured this image by tapping into one of its powerful infrared devices, the  Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).

Also known as NGC 5236, M83 is a barred spiral galaxy located about 15 million light-years from us. It's of particular interest to astronomers trying to learn more about star formation. The James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI is their current tool of choice in that quest because, as its name suggests, it observes the universe through infrared wavelengths between 5,000 and 28,000 nanometers. (By comparison, visible light, or the light human eyes are built to see, has wavelengths between 380 and 750 nanometers.)