Spiral galaxy's brilliant heart shines bright in a new picture from NASA's Webb telescope

This image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows Messier 77 (M77), a barred spiral galaxy famous and appreciated among astronomers for its combination of relative proximity and spectacular features to study. (NASA/ESA/Webb)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A spiral galaxy’s brilliant heart outshines everything within sight in a new picture from NASA’s Webb Space Telescope.

The image released this week depicts the Messier 77 galaxy 45 million light-years away in the Cetus, or whale, constellation. A light year is about 6 trillion miles.

The galaxy’s active nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole that’s 8 million times more massive than the sun. Surrounding gas is sucked into a tight orbit around the black hole, becoming so hot that it radiates in the extreme. Webb’s mid-infrared instrument captured the stunning details.

The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope has been photographing the cosmos since launching in 2021.

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Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press

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