The Bullet Galaxy Cluster in Carina | James Webb Space Telescope

The Bullet Galaxy Cluster in Carina: Hubble & Webb Space Telescopes

The video fades between images of the Bullet Cluster taken by NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. More distant galaxies pop into view with Webb’s near-infrared observation. This is the central region of the Bullet Cluster. It is made up of two massive galaxy clusters. Normally, gas, dust, stars, and dark matter are combined into galaxies, even when they are gravitationally bound within larger groups known as galaxy clusters. The Bullet Cluster is unusual in that the intracluster gas and dark matter are separated, offering further evidence in support of dark matter.

These galaxy clusters act as gravitational lenses, magnifying the light of background galaxies. “Gravitational lensing allows us to infer the distribution of dark matter,” said James Jee, a co-author, professor at Yonsei University, and research associate at UC Davis in California.

The Bullet Cluster is found in the Carina constellation 3.8 billion light-years from Earth. It is huge in size, even in the vast expanse of space. 

Video Credits:

NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Duration: 17 seconds

Release Date: June 30, 2025

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