The James Webb telescope has revealed the hidden structures of galaxy IC 5332, which could not be seen through Hubble

Scientists have new data on the spiral galaxy IC 5332, located 29 million light-years from Earth. The hidden structures of the galaxy became possible to see thanks to the unique camera medium-infrared (MIRI) James Webb Space Telescope, they were not visible with Hubble.

The diameter of the galaxy IC 5332 is about 66,000 light-years and it is slightly larger than the Milky Way. Its location is quite convenient to observe: with the space telescope, you can see its spiral “sleeves”.

Both Hubble and James Webb took pictures of this galaxy, but they look completely different.

Hubble's image (the top one) was taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), which operates in the ultraviolet and visible spectrum bands.

James Webb's image (the bottom one) was taken in the mid-infrared with MIRI, this is the only instrument of the telescope that is sensitive to the mid-infrared region of the spectrum (wavelength from 5 to 28 m/km). All other instruments of this telescope work only in the so-called near-infrared spectrum.

In the Hubble image, the dark regions share the spiral “sleeves” arms of the galaxy, while the James Webb image shows a more complex structure – the ultraviolet and visible light are more strongly scattered by interstellar dust than the infrared. James Webb's image is somewhat like an X-ray of a galaxy, showing its skeleton and bones.

Hubble's image shows well the dust clusters, darker areas through which visible and ultraviolet light cannot penetrate. And in James Webb's image, these areas are not "dark," as infrared light passes through them.

Different images show different stars, as some of them shine brighter in the ultraviolet or visible range, while others shine brighter in the infrared.

According to scientists, the comparison of data from both telescopes provides more detailed information about the structure of the galaxy IC 5332.