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NASA & CSA

The Phantom Galaxy, M74, shines at its brightest in this combined optical image from Hubble and mid-infrared image from JWST. Studies of the earliest galaxies can help astronomers understand how modern galaxies such as M74 evolved.

The James Webb Space Telescope peers into the heart of M74, otherwise known as the Phantom Galaxy. Webb’s infrared vision reveals delicate filaments of gas and dust in the grandiose spiral arms that wind outwards from the center. A lack of gas in the center provides an unobscured view of the star cluster at the galaxy's core.

Using Webb’s mid-infrared instrument (MIRI), those same dusty regions are no longer dark. Webb is able to peer through the dust and see the “bones” of the galaxy.

The winding spiral structure of the galaxy IC 5332 is revealed in ultraviolet and visible light captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Dark, dusty regions seem to separate the spiral arms.