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JWST Images Centaurus A Black Hole and Distant Galaxies

7/13/2026

Summary

JWST Images Centaurus

On July 6 2026 the James Webb Space Telescope captured an image of Centaurus A that shows its central black hole and dust jets.
Centaurus A, 11 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus, merged with another galaxy 2 billion years ago, producing its filaments, loops, dust clouds and S-ribbons.
JWST also captured the Cartwheel Galaxy and MoM-z14, the farthest known galaxy, with a mission slated for about 20 years of operation.

Summary

JWST Turns Four

JWST, a $10 billion NASA-ESA-CSA mission, marked its fourth birthday on July 12, 2026.
PetaPixel selected 25 Webb images for their visual impact, insisting aesthetic appeal accompany scientific merit.
Image processor Alyssa Pagan highlighted the “cosmic cliffs” composite, noting it required 1,000 individual exposures.
Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments resolved the Red Spider Nebula’s central star and revised galaxy M77’s distance to 40 million light-years.

History

Historical Context

In 1990 NASA launched the 2.4-meter Hubble Space Telescope, whose 1995 Deep Field captured over 3,000 faint galaxies and proved space-based visible-light imaging essential. The success spurred the international JWST program, built with ESA and CSA, launched in December 2021 to observe the infrared universe. JWST’s 2026 Centaurus A image echoes Hubble’s early galaxy-formation discoveries, underscoring a legacy of successive space observatories.

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JWST Images Centaurus

On July 6 2026 the James Webb Space Telescope captured an image of Centaurus A that shows its central black hole and dust jets.
Centaurus A, 11 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus, merged with another galaxy 2 billion years ago, producing its filaments, loops, dust clouds and S-ribbons.
JWST also captured the Cartwheel Galaxy and MoM-z14, the farthest known galaxy, with a mission slated for about 20 years of operation.

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