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MACS 0416 Mothra Pullout (Hubble ACS and WFC3 + Webb NIRCam Image)

A field of galaxies on the black background of space. At center left, a particularly prominent linear feature stretches vertically. It is outlined by a white box, and a lightly shaded wedge leads to an enlarged view at the bottom right. A spot near the middle of the feature is labeled “Mothra.”

This image of galaxy cluster MACS0416 highlights one particular gravitationally lensed background galaxy, which existed about 3 billion years after the big bang. That galaxy contains a transient, or object that varies in observed brightness over time, that the science team nicknamed “Mothra.” Mothra is a star that is magnified by a factor of at least 4,000 times. The team believes that Mothra is magnified not only by the gravity of galaxy cluster MACS0416, but also by an object known as a “milli-lens” that likely weighs about as much as a globular star cluster.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    04:16:9.89
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -24:03:58.0
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Eridanus

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 Hubble data from proposals 12459 (M. Postman), 13496 (J. Lotz), and 13386 (S. Rodney) as well as Webb data from proposals: 1176 and 2738 (R. Windhorst). Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST ACS & WFC3; JWST NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    HST: July 2012 - Feb 2023 JWST: 7 Oct 2022, 29 Dec 2022, 10 Feb 2022
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    HST ACS: F435W, F606W, F814W; WFC3/IR: F105W, F125W, F140W, F160W; JWST NIRCam: F090W, F115W, F150W, F200W, F277W, F356W, F410M, F444W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    MACS J0416.1-2403
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Lensing Galaxy Cluster
  • Release Date
    November 9, 2023
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb, Hubble Combine to Create Most Colorful View of Universe
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Jose Diego (IFCA), Jordan D'Silva (UWA), Anton Koekemoer (STScI), Jake Summers (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU), Haojing Yan (University of Missouri); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

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A field of galaxies on the black background of space. At center left, a particularly prominent linear feature stretches vertically. It is outlined by a white box, and a lightly shaded wedge leads to an enlarged view at the bottom right. A spot near the middle of the feature is labeled “Mothra.”
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes using the ACS, WFC3, and NIRCam instruments. Multiple filters were used to sample broad and narrow 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: Red: F444W and F410M, Orange: F356W, Yellow: F277W and F200W, Green: F160W, F150W, F140W, F125W, F115W, Cyan: F090W, F105W, F814W, Blue: F606W, F435W

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.

Related Images & Videos

A field of galaxies on the black background of space. In the middle, stretching from left to right, is a collection of dozens of yellowish spiral and elliptical galaxies that form a foreground galaxy cluster. Among them are distorted linear features, which mostly appear to follow invisible concentric circles curving around the center of the image.

MACS 0416 (Hubble ACS and WFC3 + Webb NIRCam Image)

This panchromatic view of galaxy cluster MACS0416 was created by combining infrared observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with visible-light data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. To make the image, in general the shortest wavelengths of light were color-coded...

Two side-by-side photos of the same region of space. The left image is labeled “HST” and the right image “JWST.” A variety of galaxies of various shapes are scattered across the image, making it feel densely populated. The JWST image contains a number of red galaxies that are invisible or only barely visible in the HST image.

MACS 0416 (Hubble and Webb Compared)

This side-by-side comparison of galaxy cluster MACS0416 as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in optical light (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light (right) reveals different details. Both images feature hundreds of galaxies, however the Webb image shows...

An image titled “Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes, Galaxy Cluster MACS J0416.1-2403.” Most of the image shows a field of galaxies of various colors and shapes on the black background of space. At the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky, and a color key showing which filters were used to create the image.

MACS 0416 (Hubble + Webb Compass Image)

Image of galaxy cluster MACS0416 captured in visible light by Hubble’s ACS and WFC3 and in infrared light by Webb’s NIRCam, with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference. The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the...

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

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

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Jose Diego (IFCA), Jordan D’Silva (UWA), Anton Koekemoer (STScI), Jake Summers (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU), Haojing Yan (University of Missouri)

Image Processing Credit

Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

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