NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared imaging survey of Messier 82 (M82) is the most recent observation of this starburst galaxy, adding to the amount of overall data that has been collected over the years on this galaxy by different space telescopes.
The Hubble Space Telescope previously looked at M82 in visible light. The amount of dust within M82 shrouds the galaxy’s details at this wavelength. Webb’s infrared-light view pierces through the dusty environment of M82 and reveals millions of individual stars within the galaxy’s heart (seen here as luminous blue-white granules). Red-orange clumps are small dust grains.