May 16, 2024

Cosmic Collision Ignites a Trillion-Sun Spectacle: James Webb Space Telescope Unveils Arp 220

Arp 220, a combining ultra-luminous infrared galaxy, was recorded by the James Webb Space Telescope, showcasing its trillion-sun luminosity, massive star formation, and vivid evidence of the ongoing galactic dance. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).
A Dazzling Display of Star Birth Captured in Infrared.
A stunning smash-up of 2 spiral galaxies shines in infrared with the light of more than a trillion suns. Collectively called Arp 220, the colliding galaxies sparked a tremendous burst of star birth.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured this stunning image of Arp 220, an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) formed by the merging of two spiral galaxies. The telescope exposed the parent galaxies cores, each with a rotating, star-forming ring accountable for the striking infrared light. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).
Webb Space Telescope Captures the Spectacular Galactic Merger Arp 220.
Shining like a fantastic beacon in the middle of a sea of galaxies, Arp 220 lights up the night sky in this view from NASAs James Webb Space Telescope. Really, 2 spiral galaxies in the process of merging, Arp 220 glows brightest in infrared light, making it a perfect target for Webb.
Found 250 million light-years away in the constellation of Serpens, the Serpent, Arp 220 is the 220th things in Halton Arps Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. It is the nearest ULIRG and the brightest of the three galactic mergers closest to Earth.

Jointly called Arp 220, the clashing galaxies sparked a significant burst of star birth. The James Webb Space Telescope recorded this stunning image of Arp 220, an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) formed by the combining of 2 spiral galaxies. The telescope revealed the moms and dad galaxies cores, each with a rotating, star-forming ring accountable for the striking infrared light. Shining like a fantastic beacon amidst a sea of galaxies, Arp 220 lights up the night sky in this view from NASAs James Webb Space Telescope. Actually, 2 spiral galaxies in the procedure of merging, Arp 220 shines brightest in infrared light, making it a perfect target for Webb.

The collision of the 2 spiral galaxies began about 700 million years earlier. About 200 substantial star clusters live in a packed, dusty area about 5,000 light-years across (about 5 percent of the Milky Ways size).
Image of Arp 220 captured by Webbs Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), with compass arrows, scale bar, and color secret for reference.The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. The field of view revealed in this image is around 120,000 light-years across.This image reveals unnoticeable infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color of each filter name is the visible-light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).
NASAs Hubble Space Telescope discovered the cores of the parent galaxies 1,200 light-years apart. Each of the cores has a rotating, star-forming ring blasting out the amazing infrared light so obvious in this Webb view.
On the borders of this merger, Webb reveals faint tidal tails, or material drained the galaxies by gravity, represented in blue– evidence of the stellar dance that is occurring. Organic product represented in reddish-orange appears in streams and filaments across Arp 220.
Webb saw Arp 220 with its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).
The James Webb Space Telescope is the worlds prominent area science observatory is the James Webb Space Telescope, and was developed to unravel the mysteries of our planetary system and check out distant worlds around other stars. It aims to investigate the enigmatic structures and origins of our universe, and our position within it. This worldwide program is led by NASA in cooperation with its partners, particularly, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency.