The collision of these two galaxies has never been so beautiful thanks to Hubble and James-Webb

IC 2163 and NGC 2207 are two galaxies at a distance of approximately 114 million light years from Earth. It is therefore difficult to observe the dance in which they are engaged from the blue planet. This is where not one, but two space telescopes come into play, the venerable Hubble (already a fan of galaxy collisions) and the most recent James-Webb, JWST for short. Thanks to their respective observation tools, NASA in the United States and the European ESA were able to produce a unique image of the start of the collision of these two galaxies.

A duo of legends to observe an impressive couple

Already watched for two centuries after its discovery in 1835 by the British astronomer John Herschelthis event, far from over, in the constellation Canis Major has never been so well observed. The most recent image effectively combines near and mid-infrared radiation (thanks to James-Webb), the visible spectrum and ultraviolet (Hubble's hunting ground). This combination makes it possible to better observe the stars, whether they are very recent, already well established or in the process of being created, within the two galaxies.

NGC 2207, the larger of the two, is 143,000 light years across, while IC 2163 mimics our Milky Way at 101,000 light years. These two galaxies are currently producing new stars at a rate five to ten times greater than in the Milky Way. In the images from the two telescopes, the red lines are probably collision zones where elements of the two entities collided.

This gravitational interaction is still far from over, since it will take several million years for NGC 2207 and IC 2163 to combine into a single – and large – elliptical galaxy.