{"id":63901,"date":"2024-09-22T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-22T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/204a7d10-3a1b-45fc-a240-7eb0154c85f5"},"modified":"2024-09-22T08:39:42","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T08:39:42","slug":"smash-and-smile-webb-image-shows-smiley-face-galaxy-collision-igniting-a-new-wave-of-star-formation","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/smash-and-smile-webb-image-shows-smiley-face-galaxy-collision-igniting-a-new-wave-of-star-formation\/","title":{"rendered":"Smash and smile! Webb image shows smiley face galaxy collision igniting a new wave of star formation"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Sunday, 22 September 2024 at 08:30 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The James Webb Space Telescope<\/a> has captured an image of two galaxies colliding, in the process of merging, producing a strange formation that looks rather like a smiley face.<\/p>

The galaxy collision, known as Arp 107, is the merging of an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy, and Webb has given astronomers a unique view of the event.<\/p>

See the James Webb Space Telescope’s latest images<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Composite image of galaxy merger Arp 107 captured by James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments. Click to expand. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI<\/figcaption><\/figure>

About the Webb Arp 107 image<\/strong><\/h2>

Arp 107 is 465 million lightyears from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.<\/p>

The Webb image shows a huge spiral galaxy<\/a> (in orange and red) and an elliptical galaxy (seen in white), plus a faint bridge of white stars and gas formed by gravitational interactions between the two.<\/p>

The image of Arp 107 was produced using data captured by the James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera).<\/p>

\"Image
Image of galaxy merger Arp 107 captured by James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera). Click to expand. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI<\/figcaption><\/figure>

NIRCam data shows stars within both galaxies, and the white bridge of gas and dust connecting the two.<\/p>

MIRI data of Arp 107 shows shows star-forming regions and dust, as well as the the bright core lit up by a supermassive black hole<\/a>.<\/p>

The spiral galaxy is a Seyfert galaxy, a type of active galaxy thought to be powered by a central supermassive black hole.<\/p>

As this image of shows, the galaxy’s core glows brightly in infrared<\/a>.<\/p>

\"Image
Image of galaxy merger Arp 107 captured by James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). Click to expand. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI<\/figcaption><\/figure>

When galaxies collide…<\/strong><\/h2>

A galaxy collision<\/a> sounds like a pretty destructive event, but in fact they can be more productive than destructive.<\/p>

Given the vast distances between stars in galaxies, during a galaxy merger like this, collisions between individual stars are extremely unlikely.<\/p>

Instead, galaxy collisions can churn up and compress cosmic gas and dust, leading to bouts of star formation.<\/p>

\"A
A Spitzer Space Telescope observation of merging galaxies Arp 107 from 20005 shows just how detailed the Webb image is. Click to expand. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/B. J. Smith (East Tennessee State University)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Yet paradoxically, that gas and dust can also be dispersed across the galaxy, potentially depriving young stars of the ingredients they need to form.<\/p>

But don’t expect any sort of resolution to this story any time soon. The full merger will only be complete after hundreds of millions of years.<\/p>

webbtelescope.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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