{"id":626340,"date":"2026-09-16T10:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T10:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/626340\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T10:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T10:46:13","slug":"apod-2026-september-16-webbs-view-of-m64","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/626340\/","title":{"rendered":"APOD: 2026 September 16 \u2013 Webb’s View of M64"},"content":{"rendered":"

APOD: 2026 September 16 \u2013 Webb’s View of M64<\/p>\n

Discover the cosmos!<\/a>
\nEach day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.\n<\/p>\n

2026 September 16
\n

\n\"Hubble<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Webb’s View of M64
Image Credit:
\nNASA, CSA, ESA, F. Belfiore (ESO), J. Lee (STScI), A. Leroy (OSU), and D. Thilker (JHU);
\n
Image Processing: G. Kober (NASA\/Catholic University)
\n
Text:
\nKeighley Rockcliffe<\/a>
\n(NASA<\/a>
\nGSFC<\/a>,
\nUMBC CSST<\/a>,
\nCRESST II<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Explanation:
\nSometimes where
\nHubble<\/a>
\nfinds darkness,
\nWebb<\/a>
\nsees light. An example is today\u2019s composite images of
\nMessier 64<\/a> (M64),
\na nearby
\nspiral galaxy<\/a>
\nof many names<\/a>.
\nThe dark band of
\ndust<\/a>
\npartially blocking its bright core earned it the moniker
\n\u201cthe Black Eye Galaxy<\/a>.\u201d
\nWebb\u2019s Mid-InfraRed Instrument<\/a> (MIRI)
\nsees that dust, shown in red, as it absorbs and re-emits light from surrounding newborn stars.
\nThese young stars are embedded in pink star-forming regions in the secondary Hubble-only image.
\nM64\u2019s inner and outer gas regions
\ncounter-rotate<\/a>,
\ncreating regions of increased star formation where the two gas \u201ccurrents\u201d meet and compress.
\nA merger between M64 and a smaller galaxy was likely the cause of the opposing motion of the
\nouter gas. Spiral galaxies were once thought to have peaceful histories.
\nM64 was key evidence that spiral galaxies, including the
\nMilky Way<\/a>,
\ncan and do experience mergers. Webb\u2019s view of M64 will tell astronomers about the structure,
\nmotion, and composition of the galaxy\u2019s dust and add context to the galaxy\u2019s merger history and
\nevolution.<\/p>\n

APOD’s main NASA site is
\nmoving<\/a>:
\nFrom apod.nasa.gov<\/a> to
\nscience.nasa.gov\/apod<\/a>
\n
Tomorrow’s picture: treasure<\/a><\/p>\n

<<\/a>
\n| Archive<\/a>
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\n Authors & editors:
\nRobert Nemiroff<\/a>
\n(MTU<\/a>) &
\nJerry Bonnell<\/a> (UMCP<\/a>)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
\nSpecific rights apply<\/a>.
NASA Web Privacy<\/a>,
\nAccessibility<\/a>,
\nNotices<\/a>;
A service of:
\nASD<\/a> at
\nNASA<\/a> \/
\nGSFC<\/a>,
\n
NASA Science Activation<\/a>
\n
& Michigan Tech. U.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"APOD: 2026 September 16 \u2013 Webb’s View of M64 Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":626341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[9235,7304,61,60,82,247,12919],"class_list":["post-626340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-dust","tag-galaxy","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science","tag-space","tag-spiral"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}