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NGC 5584 (Webb NIRCam + Hubble WFC3)

A large galaxy takes up the entirety of the image. The galaxy has a bright white core, and several large spiral arms extending out from that core, rotating clockwise. The arms are light blue with many pink speckles and clumps littering the arms. The background is also filled with a smattering of white and pink dots.

Combined observations from NASA’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and Hubble’s WFC3 (Wide Field Camera 3) show spiral galaxy NGC 5584, which resides 72 million light-years away from Earth. Among NGC 5584’s glowing stars are pulsating stars called Cepheid variables and Type Ia supernova, a special class of exploding stars. Astronomers use Cepheid variables and Type Ia supernovae as reliable distance markers to measure the universe’s expansion rate.

Read the story.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    14:22:23.76
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    00:23:15.61
  • 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 72 million light-years (22 million parsecs)

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)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    Hubble>WFC3/UVIS Webb>NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    2 February 2023, Janurary-April 2011
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    Hubble> F555W, F814W Webb> F277W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 5584
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Spiral galaxy, cepheids host galaxy
  • Release Date
    September 12, 2023
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Adam Riess (JHU, STScI); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 3245 × 3050
    tif (23.5 MB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 3245 × 3050
    png (16.87 MB)
  • 2000 × 1880
    png (6.94 MB)
A large galaxy takes up the entirety of the image. The galaxy has a bright white core, and several large spiral arms extending out from that core, rotating clockwise. The arms are light blue with many pink speckles and clumps littering the arms. The background is also filled with a smattering of white and pink dots.
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

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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, Adam Riess (JHU, STScI)

Image Processing Credit

Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

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