Hubble image archive
Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Webb MIRI Image)
Caption The James Webb Space Telescope’s mid-infrared image of galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 recalls the iciness of long-dead bones mixed with eerie vapors. Two large luminous “eyes” lie at the galaxies’ cores, and gauzy spiral arms reach out into the vast distances of space. We...
- Date
- Oct 31, 2024
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2024-136-01j9s544k01b5tstpx5ms5pcna
Caption
The James Webb Space Telescope’s mid-infrared image of galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 recalls the iciness of long-dead bones mixed with eerie vapors. Two large luminous “eyes” lie at the galaxies’ cores, and gauzy spiral arms reach out into the vast distances of space.
Webb’s mid-infrared image excels at showing where the cold dust glows throughout these galaxies — and helps pinpoint where stars and star clusters are buried within the dust. Find these regions by looking for the pink dots along the spiral arms. Many of these areas are home to actively forming stars that are still encased in the gas and dust that feeds their growth. Other pink dots may be objects that lie well behind these galaxies, including extremely distant active supermassive black holes known as quasars.
The largest, brightest pink region that glimmers with eight prominent diffraction spikes at the bottom right is a mini starburst — a location where many stars are forming in quick succession. Find the lace-like holes in the spiral arms. These areas are brimming with star formation.
Finally, scan the black background of space, where objects shine brightly in a rainbow of colors. Blue circles with tiny diffraction spikes are foreground stars. Objects without spikes are very distant galaxies.
Compare the Hubble and Webb images.
Image Details
| 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 about 4.7 arcminutes across (about 156,000 light-years) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created with Webb data from proposal 6553 (M. Garcia Marin). Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) |
| Instrument | MIRI |
| Exposure Dates | January 26, February 2, 2024 |
| Filters | F750W, F1130W, F1500W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the MIRI instrument. 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: F750W Green: F1130W Red: F1500W |
| About The Image | |
| 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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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
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