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Space
Space
Science
Monisha Ravisetti

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

James Webb Space Telescope NASA Io Earth ESA Jupiter
vibrant orange spiral galaxy with bright shining central star

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.

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