"It might seem like a lifetime ago, but as recently as mid-2022, the best-ever images we had acquired of distant galaxies didn't come from JWST, but rather by a NASA telescope launched way back in 1990: Hubble. Specializing in visible light wavelengths, Hubble was able to reveal features like the"
The Milky Way is relatively quiet, with star formation occurring mainly in select regions along its spiral arms. Active star-forming areas produce thousands of new stars over a few million years, such as in the Orion Nebula. The galaxy’s overall star-formation rate is under one solar mass per year, and even the galactic center shows only occasional activity in X-rays from its supermassive black hole. Across the Universe, many galaxies are far more active, including systems with widespread intense star formation, galaxies with rapid central star formation, and galaxies whose nuclei are actively feeding and producing strong high-energy signatures. Messier 77, the Squid Galaxy, is highlighted as a face-on example with energetic features not matched by other known combinations, now studied with unprecedented infrared power from JWST.
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