APOD: 2026 September 16 – Webb’s View of M64

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2026 September 16


Hubble and JWST image of M64. A massive spiral galaxy glows with a yellow core, surrounded by arms full of orange-brown dust and pink and blue patches of star formation. Framed by a haze of dark dust, the galaxy shines against black space dotted with a few stars.

Webb’s View of M64
Image Credit:
NASA, CSA, ESA, F. Belfiore (ESO), J. Lee (STScI), A. Leroy (OSU), and D. Thilker (JHU);

Image Processing: G. Kober (NASA/Catholic University)

Text:
Keighley Rockcliffe
(NASA
GSFC,
UMBC CSST,
CRESST II)

Explanation:
Sometimes where
Hubble
finds darkness,
Webb
sees light. An example is today’s composite images of
Messier 64 (M64),
a nearby
spiral galaxy
of many names.
The dark band of
dust
partially blocking its bright core earned it the moniker
“the Black Eye Galaxy.”
Webb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI)
sees that dust, shown in red, as it absorbs and re-emits light from surrounding newborn stars.
These young stars are embedded in pink star-forming regions in the secondary Hubble-only image.
M64’s inner and outer gas regions
counter-rotate,
creating regions of increased star formation where the two gas “currents” meet and compress.
A merger between M64 and a smaller galaxy was likely the cause of the opposing motion of the
outer gas. Spiral galaxies were once thought to have peaceful histories.
M64 was key evidence that spiral galaxies, including the
Milky Way,
can and do experience mergers. Webb’s view of M64 will tell astronomers about the structure,
motion, and composition of the galaxy’s dust and add context to the galaxy’s merger history and
evolution.

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(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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