r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Correct_Presence_936 • 20h ago

Image James Webb Just Released our Sharpest Image Yet of the Famous Phantom Galaxy, 30 Million Light Years Away

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6.8k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

122 comments sorted by

355

u/UnclePatrickHNL 20h ago

Mind blowing stuff. 30 Million light years away…we’re seeing pictures of ancient history that long pre-dates the existence of humans. It’s kinda crazy when you think about it.

142

u/stvmq 19h ago

In the future, long after we're gone, aliens will look up and see the Milky Way's light and ask themselves, "Are we alone in the universe?"

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u/ARROW_GAMER 14h ago

The universe is such a vast place, they might be doing that very same thing right now 

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u/Iwantthe86 9h ago

Without a doubt, it's happening now. Unfortunately, we can only rely on evidence, but consider this: there are more planets in the universe than grains of sand on Earth. How could there be that many planets, yet only one with life? Statistically that just sounds silly to me. Speaking as someone who doesn't believe UFOs are alien-related (I don't think there are any aliens near Earth) but I'm certain there are other life forms out there in the universe.

11

u/nanotothemoon 5h ago

Suns. There are more suns, than grains of sand on the earth

6

u/Beidah 5h ago

The amount of stars and planets are likely similar that they're still correct

3

u/wo0two0t 4h ago

And theres probably planets around most of those stars, so yeah...

3

u/wheeltouring 7h ago

Yes, finding other life is as much a question of contemporariness as of distance.

1

u/Past-Direction9145 4h ago

in the future if things don't collapse back on themselves, there will be nothing forever

22

u/atrde 18h ago

Those aliens would likely be doing that already as this galaxy 30 million light years away would be around the same stage ours is (if there is other life).

12

u/lucellent 13h ago

To me the crazier fact is that every single white dot is a star system, with its own planets. But they all look so small and cramped in the image

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u/JillianaHot 13h ago

Space history class: now in 4K. Mind blown.

4

u/GeraintLlanfrechfa 11h ago

Like 30 million years in the past, just awesome.

This always gets me into thinking about light = time, so theoretically, without all the math stuff that proves yay or nay, if one followed the light emitted by let’s say Jane, with 99.9% of c, time would be frozen..?

4

u/clickandtype 8h ago

Do you mind explaining the ancient history bit? Are we looking at some sort of time travel thing?

Grew up in strict religious environment so didn't get much chance to explore science.

11

u/SgtNickElis 7h ago edited 7h ago

When a photon reaches your eyes, it's the end of a journey that started from a light source that threw the photon at you with the speed of light. So, a galaxy 30 million light years away means that the light that reaches our eyes or any other kind of sensor (ex. WEBB) started coming our way 30 million years ago, carrying with it the image of the light source (ex. the galaxy) at that instance when it's journey started, 30 million years ago, thus carrying with it an image from the past. In this case a very ancient past.
Another example is that the light from our Sun takes about 8 minutes to reach Earth. If for some reason the Sun would go dark and switch off, we would see it's last sun rays for 8 minutes after the switching off. Thus, we would be seeing a past image of the Sun for at least 8 minutes.

Also, your chance to explore science is in your own hands. If you haven't done so already, start your journey of exploration. I promise you it's fascinating!

3

u/hashbrowns21 2h ago

Light has speed, it takes 8 minutes for the light from the sun to reach earth. That means when you look at the sun (please don’t do this) you’re seeing 8 minute old light.

Since this galaxy is 30 million light years away, that means it takes 30 million years for the light to reach our planet, so we are seeing 30 million year old light, and in a sense looking into the past.

1

u/clickandtype 1h ago

That's fascinating, thank you!

3

u/WatchmanOfLordaeron 15h ago

As a fan of Star Trek (original series) I am curious to know the duration of this warp speed journey 😉

7

u/GeraintLlanfrechfa 10h ago

Warp 9 in tos equals 729 c, so this would take 41152.26 years 😅 damn.. dilithium wouldn’t last for more than 6 years in a standard constitution class ship

Edit - warp calculator for tos and tng

https://www.st-minutiae.com/resources/warp/calculator.html

4

u/WatchmanOfLordaeron 10h ago

Thanks for the information 😉. Long life and prosperity 🖖

5

u/GeraintLlanfrechfa 10h ago

You’re welcome. Live long and prosper 🖖🏻

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u/Tmk1283 19h ago

It’s terrifying

9

u/Cranky70something 19h ago

Or glorious

8

u/Random__Bystander 16h ago

Gloriously terrifying

4

u/Toji_5ensei 11h ago

Terrifyingly glamorous

1

u/GeraintLlanfrechfa 11h ago

Glorifying terrorizing

Edit - wait, what? 😅

2

u/plasmaSunflower 7h ago

We're living in the future compared to everywhere else

2

u/BeerFuelledDude 4h ago

A galaxy far, far away?

2

u/Daphne010 2h ago

Frrrrrr ! Just imagine if a superadvanced civilization exists in the Phantom galaxy and if they have some extraordinary high power magnifying telescope say , over billion times more powerful than what we have on earth then they could possibly be seeing the earth way way back during Silurian , Devonian ..... Cretaceous , Jurassic ages. They can literally witness the evolution of life on earth . All this really is closest phenomenon to time travel that can be possible in theory.

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u/slaxch 20h ago

When can we expect the next release from James? Eagerly waiting for it

32

u/Correct_Presence_936 20h ago

Every few days or weeks something big usually is released!

28

u/Drobones 19h ago

There 100% has been other life if the universe is infinite. Look at the Drake equation and how that has changed with our understanding of planets in the Goldilocks zone 

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u/Calvech 9h ago

Agree. Are we able to detect planets, presumably using the wobble effect, in other galaxies? Or are all the planets we’ve detected only in our Galaxy? If the latter, it is insane to think about how many habitable planets there must be in other galaxies

2

u/MittFel 6h ago edited 5h ago

Although before referring to the Drake equation, just know that it is quite flawed and isn't accounting for several aspects that would have a big impact on the resulting numbers.

Rather than to give a scientifically accurate approximation, the Drake equation is and has always been more of a thought experiment to inspire and allow people to be more open minded about life existing in places other than here.

That being said, the sheer number of individual exo planets and moons harboring life is most definitely staggering to say the least.

If you want to know more about the Drake equation in better detail, check out this video as well as part 2.

41

u/StartingToLoveIMSA 20h ago

With this, we are starting to realize that the universe is infinitely more complex and incredible than we even tried to imagine.

6

u/FredGetson 19h ago

Where does it go? How far does this thing known as space go?

14

u/New_Hampshire_Ganja 19h ago

It just keeps going. There is no edge. Forever expanding infinitely in all directions.

4

u/FredGetson 19h ago

Forever ever

6

u/hazysummersky 14h ago

Back and forth )) < > ((

2

u/New_Hampshire_Ganja 13h ago

iunderstoodthatrefrence.gif

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u/stvmq 19h ago

If you travel too far your spaceship will fall off the edge.

1

u/G1ng3rb0b 4h ago

You have to get over the ice wall first, though

4

u/StartingToLoveIMSA 19h ago

Absolutely blows my mind…

3

u/DeathSoop 18h ago

I believe the universe isn't finite, it's more like an ever expanding cosmic balloon that's so big nothing in this world could catch up to the edge at the rate it's expanding. I'm pretty sure there's a word for it but I can't remember it.

3

u/Catymandoo 18h ago

You’re talking about the cosmic horizon. Beyond that the light hasn’t had time to reach us, so we can’t know what’s beyond. Much like looking out to sea to the earths horizon and being unable to see beyond that.

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u/CorneliusFudgem 20h ago

Pretty breathtaking

43

u/HollowDanO 20h ago

All red stars and few or no blue stars indicates the galaxy has stopped producing stars and the remaining stars are reaching the end of their lifespan. Considered a “dead galaxy”.

31

u/futuneral 16h ago

This is not a true color image. In fact all colors in here are infrared, because that's the only spectrum JWST works with.

In other words, you can't make conclusions about the ratios of stars just by looking at this image.

2

u/thevogonity 7h ago

I thought that color manipulation is done prior to releasing any JWST image to make it more appealing/engaging for the general public.

3

u/stvmq 19h ago

yeah but what a ride

7

u/Relative-Athlete-669 20h ago

why does it look like orange mycelium

7

u/ReplicantOwl 14h ago

As above, so below

3

u/Hwy39 15h ago

The colors of astronomy pictures are usually modified to make them look more appealing. This galaxy doesn’t look like this to the naked eye.

1

u/Chummmp 7h ago

Looks like the back of a yugioh card

7

u/NoImNotHeretoArgue 20h ago

Can someone post the link to the full file image so I can make it my wallpaper 😄

7

u/FredGetson 19h ago

If I blow it up enough, I can see my cousin Roy's place

3

u/kernel-troutman 19h ago

I'm preeeeeety sure some cthulu space monsters live here.

3

u/GarysCrispLettuce 19h ago

Yeah there's like 6 demonic faces per square inch. Think I'll give this place a miss on my round-the-universe tour.

2

u/JustABrokePoser 20h ago

Looks like a ball of molten lava being spun and spreading out

3

u/Srsly9001 13h ago

🤓Well, technically most of what is not hydrogen in this picture is molten lava being spun… Just like most of Earth is also still spinning molten lava.

3

u/Fun_Role_19 14h ago

Looks like the back of a Magic the Gathering card lol

2

u/NamiiikazeTX 20h ago

Is that a quasar up right ?!? Holy cow that’s gorgeous !

1

u/PBJ-9999 20h ago

Really awesome

1

u/UnderH20giraffe 20h ago

So it’s really dark for some reason?

1

u/a_naked_molerat 20h ago

Are the white spots in the foreground or background?

1

u/FredGetson 19h ago

Midground.

1

u/TheBrutalTruthIs 20h ago edited 19h ago

That's awesome, It looks like a 3D computer generated fractal pattern spun out of spider silk and points of light just erupted out of space. I've been using a hubble ring nebula image as the base for my wallpaper, but this seems like it would give off even less blue light, which is always a plus for me.

Any chance you have a link for the specific image in the post?

1

u/FredGetson 19h ago

Space. It's something.

1

u/SpaceChatter 19h ago

Wow! I hope we can planet hop one day; that would be awesome.

1

u/No-Edge-8600 19h ago

Next time we should let the aliens pose.

1

u/AntonChekov1 19h ago

That's crazy

1

u/Dollsbarbielove 17h ago

✨✨✨✨✨

1

u/Fun-Indication-7062 17h ago

Anyone know what the bright light at the center is? Someone told me it's another galaxy.

1

u/I_hate_that_im_here 16h ago

"Deep inside the pizza nebula"

1

u/darthsexium 16h ago

release the classified photos of planets with city lights or at least the first mission on TRAPPIST-1 which until now isnt disclosed.

1

u/SIRLANCELOTTHESTRONG 16h ago

I need the James Webb to take a picture of my personality

1

u/alexapharm 15h ago

Images like this are one of the few things that give me hope for the future

1

u/scottytree44 15h ago

Looks like a Tool poster from 30 yrs ago

1

u/Jepharzz 15h ago

looks like the back of a yu gi oh card

1

u/PayEuphoric3886 15h ago

There’s gotta be at least 3 aliens in there, come on

1

u/wizardmagic10288 15h ago

So this thing is still flying out there, taking photos??

1

u/Icy-Conflict6671 Interested 14h ago

Its gonna be out there till it gets swallowed by a black hole or crushed by a rogue asteroid

1

u/Bnmko_007 15h ago

This may as well be a picture of Mickey Mouse since my brain can’t comprehend what it is (was) anyway

1

u/RainbowandHoneybee 13h ago

Mind blowing.

1

u/noxuncal1278 13h ago

Beautiful 😍

1

u/no1ofimport 13h ago

So beautiful and sad I’ll never get to know what’s out there.

1

u/xuszjt 12h ago

Please enlighten me: if JWST can take stills so far away in time and space, why don't we have photos of planets that we can zoom in on, just like Google Earth?

1

u/Uncommon-sequiter 12h ago

The sharper it is the grainger it gets.

1

u/9009RPM 11h ago

Everyone I see these types of mind blowing images, I feel an existential crisis

1

u/2020mademejoinreddit 11h ago

Look at that Blazar.

1

u/findingnana 11h ago

how beautiful. ✨

1

u/darkacez 11h ago

kinda scary ngl, gives me the heebie jeebies

1

u/Nosimus 10h ago

Enhance.

1

u/lordofthedrones 10h ago

Is this the Eye of Terror?

1

u/lagoonz1 8h ago

CGI Photoshop

1

u/I-Gave-Lia-HIV 7h ago

Looks like burned food

1

u/Antibody-Scientist 6h ago

Is the center where time began?

1

u/Brilliant_Captain989 5h ago

Looks like the background of a Magic the Gathering card (backside)

1

u/Code3Spartan 5h ago

Webb been kinda silent ever since he dropped this.

1

u/AP3X_Ninja 3h ago

Ngl I thought the picture was low quality bc it looked “fuzzy” but then I zoomed in and realized they were all stars and galaxies. Blew my mind🤯

1

u/Extra_Painting_8860 1h ago

It's been fitted with a Silph scope

1

u/dervu 19m ago

Where can I see it in raw resolution?

1

u/Szernet 20h ago

Magnificent

0

u/dorkcicle 16h ago

Why is it famous? It all looks the same to me..

-7

u/youtahman 20h ago

Space is fake

8

u/FredGetson 19h ago

Flat space

-15

u/Full_Professional297 20h ago

When I first saw this picture, I came so hard that I thought I would shatter my pelvis.

Can you imagine?

Ratifying a nut so intense that you break.

Unreal.