James Webb Space Telescope captures two galaxies merging

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a new image of two galaxies that are merging together 326 million light years away from Earth.

The image was released by NASA on Friday, the second anniversary of operations of the telescope that has unlocked new secrets over the universe.

As for the moment in space, the image depicts two merging galaxies known together as Arp 142 — though they have been nicknamed “the Penguin and the Egg.”

The “Penguin” is the distorted spiral galaxy in the middle that resembles the flightless bird it’s named after, while the “Egg” is the elliptical galaxy on the left of the image.

Astronomers are estimating that the two galaxies are about 100,000 light years apart, which is surprisingly close in astronomical terms.

Arp 142 is located in the Hydra constellation, and NASA says that the two galaxies first started interacting between 25 million and 75 million years ago.

Before the pair finally merges, they will complete several additional loops. Astronomers share that they will finally become a single galaxy in millions of years.

Webb has been helping astronomers with NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency make new discoveries for two years now and is often referred to as a “time machine.”

“In just two years, Webb has transformed our view of the universe, enabling the kind of world-class science that drove NASA to make this mission a reality,” Mark Clampin, the director of the astrophysics division at NASA, shared with CBS News . “Webb is…ushering in a new era of studying distant worlds, while returning images that inspire people around the world and posing exciting new questions to answer. It has never been more possible to explore every facet of the universe.”

Clampin praised the telescope while speaking with CBS News, saying it has helped uncover secrets from the beginning of the universe.

“We really are understanding and starting to get new information on how the very first galaxies formed and evolved in the universe,” Clampin said.

He went on to share that it is especially helpful as it could unlock secrets about exoplanets “and ultimately start trying to find evidence of habitability.”