Webb celebrates two years with stunning view of interacting galaxies

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a pair of entangled galaxies in infrared light, the latest in an ongoing series of observations.

the James Webb Space Telescope The Webb telescope operates around the clock, repeatedly astounding researchers with its extremely detailed and precise infrared images and data. These wavelengths of light, which lie beyond what our eyes can see, were largely out of reach at this level of detail until Webb began making scientific observations on July 12, 2022, on behalf of astronomers around the world.

To celebrate its second anniversary, the telescope has observed Arp 142, an interacting galaxy pair nicknamed the Penguin and the Egg. The main image combines near- and mid-infrared light, which visually confirms how the two galaxies interact—look for the faint, inverted blue U-shape enveloping the two galaxies—along with a “star party,” an abundance of recent star formation, in the Penguin.

Webb’s mid-infrared view of the interacting galaxy Arp 142 appears to sing with primary colors. The background space looks like pitch black speckled with bright, multi-colored beads. The image was taken by MIRI, the telescope’s mid-infrared instrument, which astronomers use to study the coldest, oldest, dustiest objects and the most distant galaxies. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, Space Science Institute

Live image of interacting galaxies on the second anniversary of the launch of the Webb Space Telescope

Two for two! A pair of interacting galaxies celebrates the second anniversary of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which has been making continuous observations, including highly detailed images and data known as spectra. Its operations have led to a “parade” of discoveries by astronomers around the world.

“Since President Biden and Vice President Harris unveiled the first image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope two years ago, Webb has continued to uncover the secrets of the universe,” he said. NASA “With stunning images from corners of the universe, stretching back to nearly the beginning of time, Webb’s capabilities are shedding new light on our celestial surroundings and inspiring future generations of scientists, astronomers and explorers,” said project manager Bill Nelson.

“In just two years, Webb has transformed our view of the universe, providing the kind of world-class science that drove NASA to make this mission a reality,” said Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Webb provides insights into long-standing mysteries of the early universe and heralds a new era of studying distant worlds, while returning images that inspire people around the world and pose exciting new questions to answer. It has never been possible to explore every facet of the universe.”

This “penguin party” is a roaring affair! The distorted spiral galaxy in the center, the Penguin, and the compact elliptical galaxy on the left, the Egg, are locked in an energetic embrace. A new near- and mid-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, taken to mark the second year of science, shows their interaction marked by a faint blue glow in the shape of an inverted U.
The pair, known as Arp 142, made its first attempts between 25 and 75 million years ago, causing “fireworks” or new star formation in the Penguin Galaxy. In the most extreme cases, mergers can create thousands of new stars per year, for a few million years. For the Penguin Galaxy, research has shown that about 100 to 200 stars are formed each year. By comparison, the Milky Way (which does not interact with a galaxy of similar size) forms about six to seven new stars per year.
Copyright: NASA, ESA, CSA, Space Science Institute

Insightful Notes on Galactic Interactions

The telescope’s specialization in capturing infrared light — beyond what our eyes can detect — shows that these galaxies, collectively known as Arp 142, are caught up in a slow cosmic dance. Webb’s observations, which combine near- and mid-infrared light from the Webb telescope, Nercam (near infrared camera) and Mary (Mid-infrared instrument), respectively, clearly shows that they are connected by a haze represented in blue, which is a mixture of stars and gas, as a result of their mixing.

Their ongoing interaction began between 25 and 75 million years ago, when the Penguin (individually cataloged as NGC 2936) and the Egg (NGC 2937) completed their first passage. They will continue to wobble and wobble, completing many more loops before merging into a single galaxy hundreds of millions of years from now.

Two penguins and two eggs — two completely different color schemes! The Hubble Space Telescope captured visible light while observing Arp 142, nicknamed the penguin and the egg, in 2013. On the right, the James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared view of the same region. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, Space Science Institute

Penguin and egg evolution

Before its first approach, the penguin was a spiral. Today, its galactic center shines like an eye, and its uncoiled arms now form a fan-shaped beak, head, spine, and tail.

Like all spiral galaxies, the Penguin Galaxy is still very rich in gas and dust. The thin regions of gas and dust in the Penguin Galaxy have been affected by the “dance” of galaxies, causing them to collide in waves and form stars. Look for these regions in two places: a fish-like “beak” and “feathers” in its “tail.”

These young stars are surrounded by a smoke-like material that includes carbon-containing molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which Webb is exceptionally good at detecting. The dust, seen as faint, deep orange arcs, also scatters from its beak to its tail feathers.

By contrast, the compact shape of the egg has remained largely unchanged. As an elliptical galaxy, it is filled with older stars, and has much less gas and dust to pull in to form new stars. If both galaxies were spirals, each would end its first “twist” by forming new stars and twisting curls, known as tidal tails.

Another reason the egg appears undisturbed: These galaxies have roughly the same mass or weight, which is why the smaller-looking egg was not consumed or distorted by the penguin.

This video tours Arp 142, an interacting galaxy pair known as the Penguin and the Egg located 326 million light-years from Earth. The tour begins and ends with a new mid- and near-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, and includes a brief fade-out of the James Webb Space Telescope’s visible-light image. Hubble Space TelescopeThe pair are separated by just 100,000 light-years – a relatively close distance in astronomical terms. milky way The galaxy is separated from its nearest neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, by about 2.5 million light-years. This tour highlights what has happened since their interaction, including the blue haze that connects them. Also look for contrasting views of the spiral galaxy at upper right, which “disappears” in the Webb telescope’s mid-infrared view. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, Space Science Institute, Daniel Kirshenblatt (Space Science Institute)

The broader context of galactic interactions

The distance between the penguin and the egg is estimated to be about 100,000 light-years—a very close distance in astronomical terms. The Milky Way and our nearest neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, are about 2.5 million light-years apart. The two galaxies will also interact, but not for about four billion years. (See video below.)

This scientific visualization from a computer simulation depicts the inevitable collision between our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy (also known as Messier 31). Observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope suggest that the two galaxies, drawn together by their mutual gravity, will crash into each other in a near-head-on collision about 4 billion years from now.

Now, look to the upper right to spot a galaxy that is not part of this group. This edge-on galaxy, cataloged as PGC 1237172, is 100 million light-years closer to Earth. It is also very small, and is full of new blue stars.

Want another trick? Go to the mid-infrared-only web image (the second image on this page) to see PGC 1237172 practically disappear. The mid-infrared light largely captures older, cooler stars and an incredible amount of dust. Because the galaxy has so few stars, they “disappear” in mid-infrared light.

Take a moment to scan the background, too. Webb’s image is filled with distant galaxies. Some are spirals and elliptical shapes, like those nested in a penguin’s “tail feathers,” while others are scattered throughout as shapeless dots. This is a testament to the sensitivity and precision of the telescope’s infrared instruments. (Compare Webb’s view to a 2018 observation that combined infrared light from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope with near-infrared and visible light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.) Although these observations lasted only a few hours, Webb revealed galaxies that are farther away, redder, and dustier than previous telescopes—another reason to expect Webb to continue expanding our understanding of everything in the universe.

This visualization depicts the 3D structure of Arp 142, a pair of interacting galaxies nicknamed the Penguin and the Egg, as seen in near-infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Arp 142 is located 326 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. The James Webb Space Telescope is working to solve mysteries in our solar system, peer beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and explore the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. The James Webb Space Telescope is an international program led by NASA and its partner, the European Space Agency (ESA).European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).