The Webb team has released a beautiful photo taken by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope of ZW II 96, a merging galaxy pair in the constellation of Delphinus.
This Webb image shows the merging galaxy pair ZW II 96. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / L. Armus / A. Evans / Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA / Hubble Collaboration.
ZW II 96 is located 152 megaparsecs (496 million light-years) away in the constellation Delphinus, close to the celestial equator.
Otherwise known as LEDA 65779 or 2MASX J20572362+1707445, this galaxy pair is in the process of merging and as a result have a chaotic, disturbed shape.
“The bright cores of the two galaxies are connected by bright tendrils of star-forming regions,” Webb astronomers said.
“The spiral arms of the lower galaxy have been twisted out of shape by the gravitational perturbation of the galaxy merger.”
“It is these star-forming regions that made ZW II 96 such a tempting target for Webb.”
“The galaxy pair is particularly bright at infrared wavelengths thanks to the presence of the star formation.”
Webb captured ZW II 96 with a pair of its cutting-edge instruments: the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).
The new observations are from a collection of Webb measurements delving into the details of galactic evolution, in particular in nearby luminous infrared galaxies such as ZW II 96.
These galaxies, as the name suggests, are particularly bright at infrared wavelengths, with luminosities more than 100 billion times that of the Sun.
Astronomers proposed a study of complex galactic ecosystems — including the merging galaxies in ZW II 96 — to put Webb through its paces soon after the telescope was commissioned.
Their chosen targets have already been observed with ground-based telescopes and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which will provide astronomers with insights into Webb’s ability to unravel the details of complex galactic environments.
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