James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

Webb Provides Another Look Into Galactic Collisions (NIRCam and MIRI)

On Wednesdays we wear pink. ?? Arp 107, an interacting galaxy pair, was captured by Webb in both the near and mid-infrared. What does each infrared wavelength tell us? Webb’s mid-infrared observations (highlighted here in pinkish hues show star-forming regions and dust, as well as the large spiral galaxy’s bright nucleus. Near-infrared data showcases the stars within the colliding galaxies, as well as the translucent bridge of stars being pulled from them both. Read more: go.nasa.gov/4daOqKX Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Image description: A pair of interacting galaxies. The larger of the two galaxies is slightly right of center, and composed of a hazy, bright, white center and a ring of gaseous filaments, which are different shades of red and orange. Toward the bottom left and bottom right of the ring are filaments of gas spiraling inward toward the core. At the top left of the ring is a noticeable gap, bordered by two large, orange pockets of dust and gas. The smaller galaxy to its left is made of hazy white gas and dust, which becomes more diffuse farther away from its center. To this galaxy’s bottom left, there is a smaller, more diffuse gas cloud that wafts outward toward the edges. Many red, orange, and white background galaxies are spread throughout, with some hazier in composition and others having more defined spiral patterns. Image & Description by NASA