Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

NGC 5468 (Webb NIRCam + Hubble WFC3)

A face-on spiral galaxy with four spiral arms that curve outward in a counterclockwise direction. The spiral arms are filled with young, blue stars and peppered with purplish star-forming regions that appear as small blobs. The middle of the galaxy is much brighter and more yellowish, and has a distinct narrow linear bar angled from 11 o’clock to 5 o’clock. Dozens of red background galaxies are scattered across the image. The background of space is black.

This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located about 130 million light-years from Earth, combines data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the farthest galaxy in which Hubble has identified Cepheid variable stars. These are important milepost markers for measuring the expansion rate of the universe. The distance calculated from Cepheids has been cross-correlated with a type Ia supernova in the galaxy. Type Ia supernovae are so bright they are used to measure cosmic distances far beyond the range of the Cepheids, extending measurements of the universe's expansion rate deeper into space.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    14:06:35.01
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -05:27:15.72
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Virgo
  • 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 130 million light-years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 2.1 arcminutes across (about 75,000 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 and Hubble data from proposals: 1685 and 11570 (A. Riess). Image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    Hubble>WFC3/UVISWebb>NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    Hubble> 28 December 2017- 25 March 2018Webb> 28 June 2023, 15 July 2023
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    Hubble> F555W, F814WWebb> F277W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 5468
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Spiral galaxy, cepheids host galaxy
  • Release Date
    March 11, 2024
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb, Hubble Telescopes Affirm Universe’s Expansion Rate, Puzzle Persists
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Adam Riess (JHU, STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 3214 × 3233
    tif (22.28 MB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 3214 × 3233
    png (16.14 MB)
  • 1988 × 2000
    png (6.37 MB)
A face-on spiral galaxy with four spiral arms that curve outward in a counterclockwise direction. The spiral arms are filled with young, blue stars and peppered with purplish star-forming regions that appear as small blobs. The middle of the galaxy is much brighter and more yellowish, and has a distinct narrow linear bar angled from 11 o’clock to 5 o’clock. Dozens of red background galaxies are scattered across the image. The background of space is black.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope using the WFC3 instrument and the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. 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: F555W, Green: F814W, Red: F277W

Related Images & Videos

A horizontal, two-panel image of a pixelated star field.

Cepheid Variable Star P42 in NGC 5468

At the center of these side-by-side images is a special class of star used as a milepost marker for measuring the universe’s rate of expansion – a Cepheid variable star. The two images are very pixelated because they are a very zoomed-in view of a distant galaxy. Each of the...

Share

Details

Last Updated
Mar 10, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Hubble Science Highlights

Hubble Images

Hubble News