NASA's James Webb telescope snaps distant pair of colliding galaxies
The $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continues to deliver bang for the buck. Now, it has photographed the merger of two galaxies called IC 1623 A and B, which has resulted in a flurry of star formation 20 times faster than the Milky Way. The merging was also snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope earlier. However, the pictures were not as clear.
Why does this story matter?
The cosmos is filled with wonders which managed to avoid our gaze for a long time. Not anymore. The JWST is working round-the-clock to show us pictures from the farthest corners of space, and we expect to see more in the future. The IC 1623 can be seen clearly in infrared, which makes it perfect for proving Webb's ability to study luminous galaxies.
A brief look at IC 1623 A and B
IC 1623 A and B, collectively known as IC 1623, are located in the Cetus constellation, 270 million light-years from Earth. It is believed that their collision is creating a supermassive black hole. However, it is not visible. The center of the IC 1623 is highly luminous and is generating enough heat to produce an eight-spike diffraction pattern (lines radiating from bright light sources).
Why were Hubble's pics not clear?
Earlier, the IC 1623 was imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope, which specializes in optical light detection (wavelengths visible to the human eye). The pictures were similar to what our eyes would see while looking at the galaxies. Thus, the bodies which are enveloped by a thick dust shield appeared extremely dark, particularly in the center. The JWST did not face this problem.
What did JWST see?
The JWST used three instruments—the NIRSpec spectrometer, and the MIRI and NIRCam cameras—to snap the galactic collision. Each instrument was used to glance at a different portion of the infrared light to see the different features of the merger. A new layer in the merging galaxy, painted in red and orange colors was discovered. It is bright at infrared wavelengths.
