NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has unveiled a stunning image of a galaxy cluster that resembles a question mark. This unique formation, revealed through the telescope's advanced infrared capabilities, offers a glimpse into the universe's distant past and our own Milky Way’s youthful years.

A Cosmic Enigma Unveiled

The image, captured by Webb, showcases a rare gravitational lensing effect in the galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154. This cluster, acting as a massive lens, distorts and magnifies distant galaxies, creating intriguing visual distortions. While NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope had previously observed this region, Webb’s advanced technology revealed a dusty red galaxy forming the shape of a question mark. This discovery is among only a handful of similar gravitational lensing events ever recorded.

Two distant, interacting galaxies — a face-on spiral and a dusty red galaxy seen from the side — appear multiple times, tracing a familiar shape across the sky. (Image: NASA)

Gravitational Lensing and Rare Alignments

The question mark shape is the result of a specific alignment involving the cluster, the distant galaxies, and our line of sight, known as a hyperbolic umbilic gravitational lens. This alignment causes the red galaxy, along with a spiral galaxy it interacts with, to appear distorted and stretched across the sky. The five images of these galaxies seen in Webb’s view trace the top of the question mark, while an unrelated galaxy completes the shape’s dot. This formation allows scientists to study star formation in galaxies billions of light-years away.

Wide Field View: The galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154 is so massive it is warping the fabric of space-time and distorting the appearance of galaxies behind it, an effect known as gravitational lensing. (Image: NASA)

Insight into Galactic Evolution

The Webb telescope’s findings reveal that both galaxies in the question mark shape are experiencing active star formation, likely due to their interaction. This insight provides valuable information about the early stages of galactic evolution, similar to what the Milky Way might have looked like in its formative years. “These galaxies, viewed billions of years ago when star formation was at its peak, offer a glimpse into the ‘teenage years’ of our own galaxy,” said Marcin Sawicki, one of the lead researchers.

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to be a groundbreaking tool in space exploration, solving mysteries about our solar system and beyond. As an international collaboration led by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Webb is reshaping our understanding of the universe’s origins and our place within it.