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Centaurus A (MIRI Image)

A horizontal image of the galaxy Centaurus A stretches across a black background filled with thousands of tiny purple, pink, and white points of light. The galaxy is brightest at its center, where a brilliant white and pale pink glow radiates outward. Eight diffraction spikes extend from the central glow. Delicate loops and wispy ribbons of pink and lavender arc above and below the center of the image in the shape of an ‘S’. A band of gray and white dust in the shape of a parallelogram cuts across the middle of the galaxy. Mottled patches and bright knots are scattered throughout the dusty band. The galaxy’s outer edges fade into soft, cloud-like plumes with feathery textures that stretch toward the left and right sides of the image. Against the surrounding darkness, a few bright foreground stars shine with Webb’s distinctive diffraction spikes, while countless fainter stars create a speckled backdrop.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system. Webb’s infrared vision unveils intricate filaments, loops, and glowing clouds of warm dust stretching across its center. At the heart of the galaxy, an actively feeding supermassive black hole shines brightly, surrounded by complex structures sculpted by a past galactic collision and ongoing activity.

Deeper Dive

Explore tours and points of interest in the interactive map below.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    13:25:30.09
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -42:58:13.62
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Centaurus
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    About 11 million light-years away
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    This image is about 8.2 arcminutes across (26,000 light-years)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 12496 (M. Garcia Marin).

     

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    MIRI
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    22 Jan. 2026
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F560W, F770W, F1000W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Centaurus A, NGC 5128, Caldwell 77
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Starburst galaxy
  • Release Date
    July 6, 2026
  • Science Release
    NASA Webb Uncovers Unusual Galaxy Shaped by Cosmic Collision
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Macarena Garcia Marin (ESA Office at STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 4490 × 1859
    tif (23.89 MB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 4490 × 1859
    png (13.33 MB)
  • 4490 × 1859
    jpg (4.09 MB)
  • 2000 × 828
    jpg (1.1 MB)
A horizontal image of the galaxy Centaurus A stretches across a black background filled with thousands of tiny purple, pink, and white points of light. The galaxy is brightest at its center, where a brilliant white and pale pink glow radiates outward. Eight diffraction spikes extend from the central glow. Delicate loops and wispy ribbons of pink and lavender arc above and below the center of the image in the shape of an ‘S’. A band of gray and white dust in the shape of a parallelogram cuts across the middle of the galaxy. Mottled patches and bright knots are scattered throughout the dusty band. The galaxy’s outer edges fade into soft, cloud-like plumes with feathery textures that stretch toward the left and right sides of the image. Against the surrounding darkness, a few bright foreground stars shine with Webb’s distinctive diffraction spikes, while countless fainter stars create a speckled backdrop.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images were acquired by the MIRI instrument on the Webb Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample wide wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F560W, Cyan: F770W, Red: F1000W

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Interactive:
Journey into Centaurus A

Use this interactive tool to journey into NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s mid-infrared view of Centaurus A, where dust gives way to a rich landscape of stars and hidden features. CREDIT: NASA / STScI

Related Images & Videos

A diagonal image of the galaxy Centaurus A stretches from the upper left to the lower right against a deep black background filled with countless tiny orange, blue, and white points of light. The galaxy is brightest at its center with a white glowing core. A broad band of golden-orange dust cuts across the middle of the galaxy, forming a distinctive parallelogram shape. The dust in this feature is richly textured, with mottled patches, bright knots, and intricate filaments throughout. Just above the center, delicate peach-colored ribbons trace an S-shaped structure. Rather than appearing smooth, the galaxy has a finely speckled texture created by millions of individually resolved stars, which fill the central regions and extend into the surrounding glow. The galaxyu2019s outer edges are reddish-orange and dissolve into diffuse, cloud-like plumes with feathery textures that stretch beyond the dust lane. Against the surrounding darkness, several bright foreground stars display Webbu2019s distinctive diffraction spikes.

Centaurus A Crop (NIRCam and MIRI Image)

In the combined mid- and near-infrared view of Centaurus A, the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope brings out the galaxy’s dense field of millions of stars.

A three-panel comparison shows different views of galaxy Centaurus A. The upper left panel is a visible-light image of the full galaxy surrounded by a black sky filled with white, blue, and yellow stars. Centaurus A has a dark dust lane crossing a bright center. A white outlined box marks the region observed by Webb. The upper right panel zooms into that outlined region with a combined near- and mid-infrared view from Webb. The galaxy is oriented diagonally, with a bright white core surrounded by an orange glow. A broad band of golden-orange dust forms a parallelogram across the center, countless tiny stars create a fine speckled texture throughout the image. A dashed outline indicates the smaller region shown below, Webbu2019s mid-infrared view. The galaxy stretches horizontally across a black background scattered with purple and white stars, the parallelogram glows white. Wispy clouds and looping pink structures surround the center. The galaxyu2019s edges fade into soft, feathery plumes.

Centaurus A Context Image (ESO and Webb Images)

A ground-based image of nearby galaxy Centaurus A from the European Southern Observatory (top left) puts the near-infrared and mid-infrared views from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope image into context.

Annotated image of galaxy Centaurus A captured by Webbu2019s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), with compass arrows, a scale bar, and color key for reference. Title text at top left reads u201cJames Webb Space Telescope, Centaurus A, NGC 5128.u201d A horizontal image of the galaxy stretches across a black background filled with thousands of tiny purple, pink, and white points of light. The galaxy is brightest at its center. Delicate loops and ribbons of pink and lavender arc above and below the center of the image in the shape of an u2018Su2019. A band of gray and white dust in the shape of a parallelogram cuts across the middle of the galaxy. The galaxyu2019s outer edges fade into soft plumes with feathery textures that stretch toward the left and right sides of the image. Below the image is a color key showing which of Webbu2019s MIRI filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right: F560W is blue; F770W is green; and F1000W is red.

Centaurus A (MIRI Compass Image)

Annotated image of the active galaxy Centaurus A captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), with compass arrows, a scale bar, and color key for reference. The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note ...

Annotated image of galaxy Centaurus A captured by Webbu2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), with compass arrows, a scale bar, and color key for reference. Title text at top left reads u201cJames Webb Space Telescope, Centaurus A, NGC 5128.u201d A diagonal image of the galaxy stretches from the upper left to the lower right against a deep black background filled with tiny orange, blue, and white points of light. A band of golden-orange dust cuts across the middle of the galaxy, forming a distinctive parallelogram shape. Just above the center, peach-colored ribbons trace an S-shaped structure. The galaxyu2019s outer edges are reddish-orange. Below the image is a color key showing which of Webbu2019s filters were used to create the image and the visible-light color assigned. NIRCam filters, from left to right: F090W is blue, F187N is blue, F200W is cyan, F277W is yellow, F335M is orange, F444W is red. MIRI filters, from left to right: F560 is yellow, F770W is orange, F1000W is red.

Centaurus A Crop (NIRCam and MIRI Compass Image)

Annotated image of the active galaxy Centaurus A captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), with compass arrows, a scale bar, and color key for reference. The north and east compass arrows show the orientat...

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Details

Last Updated
Jul 06, 2026
Location
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

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