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MACS J0417.5-1154 Wide Field (NIRCam Image)

At the center of a field of many colorful galaxies, three elongated red galaxies curve around to approximate the shape of the top of a question mark. Another reddish galaxy appears in about the right position to be the dot of the question mark. A bright white, oval foreground galaxy draws the eye from its position right next to the question mark shape.

A cosmic question mark appears amid a powerful gravitational lens in the James Webb Space Telescope’s wide-field view of the galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154. Gravitational lensing occurs when something is so massive, like this galaxy cluster, that it warps the fabric of space-time itself, creating a natural funhouse-mirror effect that also magnifies galaxies behind it. 

The rarely seen type of lensing captured here, which astronomers term hyperbolic umbilic, created five repeated images of one galaxy pair. The red, elongated member of this pair traces the familiar shape of a question mark across the sky due to the distortion, with another unrelated galaxy happening to be in just the right space-time to appear like the question mark’s dot – especially for humans who love to recognize familiar shapes and patterns. 

See more detail in the question mark galaxy here and see the repeated images of the galaxies labeled here.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    04:17:34.6
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -11:54:32
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Eridanus
  • 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.
    4.65 billion light-years (z=0.441)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 2.4 arcmin across (about 3.3 million 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: 1208 (C. Willott); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    Oct 2022
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F090W, F150W, F444W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    MACS J0417.5-1154
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Galaxy Cluster
  • Release Date
    September 4, 2024
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Reveals Distorted Galaxy Forming Cosmic Question Mark
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Vicente Estrada-Carpenter (Saint Mary's University)

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At the center of a field of many colorful galaxies, three elongated red galaxies curve around to approximate the shape of the top of a question mark. Another reddish galaxy appears in about the right position to be the dot of the question mark. A bright white, oval foreground galaxy draws the eye from its position right next to the question mark shape.
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 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: F090W Green: F150W Red: F444W

Related Images & Videos

Amid a field of galaxies, a repeated, elongated red galaxy forms a shape like the top of a question mark, with another galaxy positioned like the question mark’s dot. In each occurrence, another white, clumpy galaxy with an overall circular shape appears perched on top of the red galaxy. A very bright foreground galaxy appears to the right of the bottom curve of the question mark shape. To the lower right, among other galaxies, another occurrence of the galaxy pair appears, unaffiliated with the question mark shape.

Question Mark Galaxy (NIRCam Image)

The galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154 is so massive it is warping the fabric of space-time and distorting the appearance of galaxies behind it, an effect known as gravitational lensing. This natural phenomenon magnifies distant galaxies and can also make them appear in an image...

The same region of space in side-by-side images. The left image is labeled “Hubble” and the galaxies shown have an overall yellow tone and haze. The image on the right is labeled “Webb.” In the center of that image, several images of an elongated red galaxy for a shape like the top of a question mark. In comparison it’s clear that some of the features creating the question mark shape are present in the left-hand image as well, but probably wouldn’t be noticed if that image stood alone. The right-hand image is more colorful and defined than the image on the left, with shades of white, red, and a little blue.

Question Mark Galaxy (Hubble and Webb Image)

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has also observed the galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154, but the dusty red galaxy that appears multiple times to form a question mark shape is much more prominent in the Webb image. The infrared light that Webb detects is better able to pass through...

Image titled “James Webb Space Telescope, Question Mark Galaxy, MACSJ0417.5-1154” with letter labeling, compass arrows, scale bar, and color key. See extended description for more.

Question Mark Galaxy, Annotated (NIRCam Compass Image)

A specific type of gravitational lensing known to astronomers as hyperbolic umbilic, captured in the James Webb Space Telescope’s image of galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5, results in the optical illusion of five multiples of one distant galaxy pair, labeled here as A, B, C, D, and...

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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, Vicente Estrada-Carpenter (Saint Mary’s University)

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