Incredible photos show two galaxies, Penguin and Egg merging in a 'cosmic ballet'
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured images of what is being described as a 'cosmic ballet,' showing a pair of intertwined galaxies glowing in the infrared. The two galaxies, nicknamed the Penguin and Egg, were photographed in the process of merging in a sort of cosmic ballet.
Penguin galaxy and Egg galaxy
The Penguin galaxy, formally called NGC 2936, got its nickname due to its resemblance to the bird, while the Egg galaxy, formally called NGC 2937, is also named for its shape. The mingling Penguin and Egg galaxies are collectively known as Arp 142, and together, their appearance is suggestive of a penguin guarding its egg.
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The observatory, operated by NASA and the European Space Agency, photographed the two galaxies 326 million light-years away, surrounded by a blue haze of stars and gas. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.
Tangled up for tens of millions of years
According to NASA, which released the photos on Friday, the neighboring galaxies have been tangled up for tens of millions of years, and they will eventually merge into a single galaxy. NASA further said that the same interaction will happen to our own Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy in 4 billion years.
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"We see two galaxies, each a collection of billions of stars. The galaxies are in the process of merging. That's a common way that galaxies like our own build up over time, to grow from small galaxies - like those that Webb has found shortly after the Big Bang - into mature galaxies like our own Milky Way," said Jane Rigby, NASA Webb senior project scientist.
Second anniversary of James Webb Space Telescope
The photos were released to mark two years of the James Webb Space Telescope's first scientific results. Webb, which was launched in 2021, is the largest, most powerful telescope ever put in space and began collecting data the following year. It has reshaped the understanding of the early universe while taking stunning pictures of the cosmos.
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