Galaxies in the image, NGC 2207 and IC 2163, are drifting towards each other, locked in a gravitational dance. The larger NGC 2207 dominates the center of the image, while the smaller IC 2163 overlaps towards its outer edge. During this interaction, the spiral arms bend and extend, while stars and gas streams are pulled into space.
According to scientists, during such collisions, gas and dust in some regions are compressed, paving the way for the formation of new stars. This picture, which emerged with the joint data of JWST and Chandra, resembles a complex “chaos network”.
In the image, JWST’s mid-infrared data is reflected in shades of white, gray and red; This data helps track cooler dust and matter in the cores and spiral arms of galaxies. On the other hand, Chandra’s X-ray data are shown in blue tones, highlighting the most energetic regions.
This cosmic collision is just one of four Chandra-based images released simultaneously. Other images include; There is also the star-forming region NGC 6334, filled with glowing gas and dust arcs, G272.2-0.3, a supernova remnant from which hot X-ray gases are emitted, and the star system R Aquarii, where the white dwarf draws matter from the neighboring red giant.
NASA states that studying such merging galaxies is one of the main missions of the James Webb Telescope. Thanks to such observations, more accurate models can be developed for how galaxies grow, evolve, and merge over cosmic time.
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