Webb Infrared Images Resolve Individual Stars and Dust Structures in Centaurus A (esa.int)

• New MIRI and NIRCam images resolve millions of individual stars in Centaurus A, with infrared penetrating the previously obscured core.
• MIRI reveals a warped parallelogram-shaped dust band, an S-shaped feature, and numerous star-forming regions.
• Spectroscopy tracks black-hole-driven ionised gas outflow and warm molecular hydrogen in a rotating disk, enabling a timeline of the galaxy’s evolution.

"The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope marked its fourth science anniversary with new near- and mid-infrared images of Centaurus A, a galaxy 11 million light-years away. Webb’s instruments cut through dust that blocked visible-light views, resolving a dense field of individual stars in the galaxy’s central region. The MIRI image shows a warped parallelogram-shaped dust band and an unexplained S-shaped feature; red points mark dust-rich stars and stellar nurseries. Spectroscopy reveals fast-moving ionised gas likely driven by the central supermassive black hole and warm molecular hydrogen in a warped rotating disk, offering clues to how black holes shape galaxies."