Astronomy Picture of the Day - Webb and Hubble: IC 5332

NASA ^ | 26 Feb, 2026 | Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST and PHANGS-HST Teams Text: Cecilia Chi

[MtnClimber]

Explanation: What does the universe look like through infrared goggles? Our eyes can only see visible light, but astronomers want to see more. Today’s APOD shows spiral galaxy IC 5332 as seen by two NASA telescopes: Webb in mid-infrared and Hubble in ultraviolet and visible light. To toggle between the two space-based views just slide your cursor over the image (or follow this link). The Hubble image highlights the spiral arms of the galaxy separated by dark regions, whereas the Webb image reveals a finer, more tangled structure. Interstellar dust scatters and absorbs light from the stars in the galaxy, causing the dark dust lanes in the Hubble image, and then emits heat in infrared light, so dust glows in this Webb image. The Mid-InfraRed Instrument on Webb needs to operate at a chilling temperature of -266ºC (or - 447ºF), otherwise it would detect infrared radiation from the telescope itself. Combining these observations, astronomers connect the “small scale” of gas and stars to the truly large scale of galactic structure and evolution.

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TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; hubble; nasa; webbtelescope

[MtnClimber]

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For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

[MtnClimber]

[MtnClimber]

Webb

[MtnClimber]

Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

[blueunicorn6]

This is really a photo of the spiderwebs in Joe Biden’s brain.

[ryderann]

Too many sparking neurons for Joe’s brain...or Kamala’s.