Time to reinvent the wheel.

Here’s the Cartwheel Galaxy in a whole new light — as a composite image from 2 instruments on the Webb telescope. Webb uniquely offers not just a snapshot of the galaxy’s current state, but also a peek into its past & future: go.nasa.gov/3SfEQgR

Believe it or not, this galaxy was probably your average spiral galaxy before it collided with a smaller galaxy over 400 million years ago. Now, it’s made up of 2 rings — a bright inner ring and a surrounding, colorful ring. Both expand outwards from the center like pond ripples.

Here’s that galaxy again, as seen just through Webb’s MIRI instrument. While Webb’s NIRCam reveals previously unseen young stars, MIRI reveals regions rich in hydrocarbons and chemical compounds, such as silicate dust — similar to dust on Earth!