NGC 7496, Hubble

NGC 7496  This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the barred spiral galaxy  NGC 7496, which lies over 24 million light-years away in the constellation Grus. This constellation, whose name is Latin for crane, is one of four constellations collectively known as the Southern Birds. This Hubble image is beautiful and is the visual wavelengths but Hubble’s instruments were unable to penetrate the thick dust and gas that surrounds these regions. JWST, though, can see infrared light that bounces off the dust, allowing the telescope to probe close to the moments when the stars switched on and nuclear fusion ignited in their cores. What’s most remarkable is that NGC 7496 is a normal galaxy, “not a poster-child galaxy.” Yet under the watchful eye of JWST, it suddenly comes to life and reveals channels where stars are forming.The JWST image can be seen here. https://earthandskyimaging.com/product/ngc-7496-jwst-2. A composite image showing data from both images can be seen here. https://earthandskyimaging.com/product/ngc-7496-jwst-hubble/