James Webb Space Telescope captures ‘cosmic smile’ of galaxies colliding

By Dean Murray via SWNS

A spectacular image of galaxies colliding has been compared to watchful eyes - or a cosmic smile.

The composite image of Arp 107, created with data from the James Webb Space Telescope , reveals a wealth of information about the star formation taking place in these two galaxies and how they met hundreds of million years ago. The galactic duo lies about 465 million light-years from Earth.

The European Space Agency (ESA) said: "This collision not only began a new bout of star formation in the region but also produced an endearing smile."

While NASA noted: "Smile for the camera! An interaction between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy, collectively known as Arp 107, seems to have given the spiral a happier outlook thanks to the two bright 'eyes' and the wide semicircular 'smile'."

The scene was captured by Webb's NIRCam (Near-InfraRed Camera) and MIRI (Mid-InfraRed Instrument).

The near-infrared data, shown in white, show older stars, which shine brightly in both galaxies, as well as the tenuous gas bridge that runs between them. The vibrant background galaxies are also brightly illuminated at these wavelengths.

On the other hand, MIRI data show the young stars and star-forming regions in vibrant orange and red. Our view in the mid-infrared provides the best view of the collision point, given the noticeable gap at the top of the spiral galaxy.

Arp 107 is part of the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, a catalog of 338 galaxies compiled in 1966 by Halton Arp.

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