NGC 5468 (Webb NIRCam + Hubble WFC3)

This image of NGC 5468, a galaxy located about 130 million light-years from Earth, combines data from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the farthest galaxy in which Hubble has identified Cepheid variable stars. These are important milepost markers for measuring the expansion rate of the universe. The distance calculated from Cepheids has been cross-correlated with a type Ia supernova in the galaxy. Type Ia supernovae are so bright they are used to measure cosmic distances far beyond the range of the Cepheids, extending measurements of the universe's expansion rate deeper into space.

About the colours

This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope using the WFC3 instrument and the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample wide wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F555W, Green: F814W, Red: F277W

About the data

This image was created with Webb and Hubble data from proposals: 1685 and 11570 (A. Riess). Image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).