Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Webb and Hubble Image)

Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Webb and Hubble Image)

Caption

The gruesome palette of these galaxies is owed to a mix of mid-infrared light from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, and visible and ultraviolet light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The pair grazed one another millions of years ago. The smaller spiral on the left, cataloged as IC 2163, passed behind NGC 2207, the larger spiral galaxy at right.

Both have increased star formation rates. Combined, they are estimated to form the equivalent of two dozen new stars that are the size of the Sun annually. Our Milky Way galaxy forms the equivalent of two or three new Sun-like stars per year.

Both galaxies have hosted seven known supernovae, each of which may have cleared space in their arms, rearranging gas and dust that later cooled, and allowed new many stars to form. (Find these areas by looking for the bluest regions).

Examine the galaxies’ radically white appearance in mid-infrared light, and compare the Hubble and Webb images side by side.

Credits

Image

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Keywords

About The Object
Object Name IC 2163 and NGC 2207
Object Description Spiral Galaxies
R.A. Position 06:16:24.9
Dec. Position -21:22:26
Constellation Canis Major
Distance 114 million light-years
Dimensions The image is 4.8 arcminutes across (about 160,000 light-years). 
About The Data
Data Description This image was created with Hubble data from proposal: (D. Elmegreen) and Webb data from proposal (M. Garcia Marin). Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Instrument Hubble: WFPC2; Webb: MIRI
Exposure Dates Hubble: May 25, 1996; November 11, 1998; Webb: January 26, February 2, 2024
Filters Hubble: F439W, F555W, F814W; Webb: F770W, F1130W, F1500W
About The Image
Color Info These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes using Hubble's WFPC2 and Webb's MIRI instruments. Several filters were used to sample wide wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F439W Green: F555W Red: F814W, Orange: F770W + F1130W + F1500W
Compass and Scale Image Two spiral galaxies take the shape of a colorful beaded mask that sits above the nose. The galaxy at left, IC 2163, is smaller, taking up a little over a quarter of the view. The galaxy at right, NGC 2207, takes up half the view, with its spiral arms reaching the edges. IC 2163 has a bright orange core, with two prominent spiral arms that rotate counter clockwise and become straighter towards the ends, the left side extending almost to the edge. Its arms are a mix of pink, white, and blue, with an area that takes the shape of an eyelid appearing whitest. NGC 2207 has a very bright core. Overall, it appears to have larger, thicker spiral arms that spin counter clockwise. This galaxy also contains more and larger blue areas of star formation that poke out like holes from the pink spiral arms. In the middle, the galaxies’ arms appear to overlap. The edges show the black background of space, including extremely distant galaxies that look like orange and red smudges, and a few foreground stars.
About The Object
Object Name A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
Object Description The type of astronomical object.
R.A. Position Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
Dec. Position Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
Constellation One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Distance The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
Dimensions The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
About The Data
Data Description
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
Instrument The science instrument used to produce the data.
Exposure Dates The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Filters The camera filters that were used in the science observations.
About The Image
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Compass and Scale Image An astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

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