NASA has captured a new image of a question mark-shaped galaxy cluster light-ears away that astronomers say may be able to teach us about our own galaxy’s past.
In a press release shared by the organization on Wednesday, Sept. 4, researchers announced that the James Webb Space Telescope was used to take clearer images of two distant galaxies that form a question mark shape when paired with a third galaxy cluster known as MACS-J0417.5-1154.
This dusty red galaxy has previously been photographed by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, but researchers utilized both the Webb and Hubble telescopes to take new images of it. According to NASA, astronomers used MACS-J0417.5-1154 as a sort of magnifying glass, because it’s so large that it warps the fabric of space-time.
“This allows astronomers to see enhanced detail in much more distant galaxies behind the cluster. However, the same gravitational effects that magnify the galaxies also cause distortion, resulting in galaxies that …