The brilliant core of a spiral galaxy has been captured in a striking new image released by Nasa’s Webb Space Telescope, showing its intense glow outshining all surrounding features.

The newly released picture depicts the Messier 77 galaxy, located about 45 million light-years away in the Cetus (whale) constellation. A light-year is roughly 6 trillion miles.

At the centre of the galaxy lies an active nucleus powered by a supermassive black hole estimated to be eight million times more massive than the sun. Surrounding gas is drawn into a tight orbit around the black hole, heating up to extreme temperatures and emitting intense radiation.

The telescope’s mid-infrared instrument captured the detailed structure and brightness of the region.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most powerful space observatory, has been documenting deep space phenomena since its launch in 2021.