James Webb Telescope shows Earth from 11 million years ago
The James Webb Telescope has revealed new images of the center of the Centaurus A galaxy, located 11 million light-years from Earth. Using its infrared-based instruments, it has been able to penetrate dense layers of dust, allowing for the observation of complex dust structures, including two lanes that cross the core. Scientists continue to study their relationship with the formation of features associated either with ancient mergers with other galaxies or with black hole activity and star formation. The galaxy is highly active, with its supermassive black hole consuming material and emitting powerful jets. It is believed that its current shape resulted from a violent merger approximately two billion years ago, which contributed to the formation of dust rings and waves that continue to foster star formation to this day. The James Webb Telescope mission, launched in December 2021, is among the most significant projects enabling the study of parts of the universe previously hidden from earlier observatories. Its goals include exploring the early days of the cosmos and searching for life on exoplanets.
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