Three Views of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | James Webb Space Telescope

Three Views of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | James Webb Space Telescope

These images from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope depicts IC 1623, an entwined pair of interacting galaxies which lies around 270 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Cetus. 

Shown first is Webb’s view of IC 1623 as seen by the MIRI instrument, followed by that of the NIRCam instrument. Finally, the third image presented includes the data from both MIRI and NIRCam combined.

The two galaxies in IC 1623 are plunging headlong into one another in a process known as a galaxy merger. Their collision has ignited a frenzied spate of star formation known as a starburst, creating new stars at a rate more than twenty times that of the Milky Way galaxy.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Webb, NASA & Canadian Space Agency (CSA), L. Armus & A. Evans, N. Bartmann  

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: October 25, 2022

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