Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2024

42 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2024 ASTRO PUBLISHING Camera). NIRCam highlights the stars within both galaxies and re- veals the connection between them: a transparent, white bridge of stars and gas pulled from both galaxies during their passage. MIRI data, Webb provides another look into galactic collisions S mile for the camera! An inter- action between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy, col- lectively known as Arp 107, seems to have given the spiral a happier outlook thanks to the two bright “eyes” and the wide semicircular “smile.” The region has been ob- served before in infrared by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2005, however NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope displays it in much higher resolution. This image is a compos- ite, combining observations from Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instru- ment) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared by NASA/ESA/CSA Matthew Brown Christine Pulliam T his composite image of Arp 107, created with data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) reveal a wealth of information about the star-formation and how these two galaxies collided hundreds of million years ago. The near-infrared data, shown in white, shows older stars, which shine brightly in both galaxies, as well as the tenuous bridge of gas and stars that runs between them. The vi- brant background galaxies are also brightly illuminated in this wavelength. On the other hand, MIRI data shows the young stars and star-forming regions in vi- brant orange and red. Our view in the mid-infrared provides the best view of the collision point, given the noticeable gap at the top of the spiral galaxy. This collision not only began a new bout of star formation in the region, but also an endearing smile. [NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI]