The James Webb Telescope marks the second anniversary with an image of the Penguin and Egg constellations

NASA and its partners, the European and Canadian space agencies, are celebrating the second year since the James Webb Telescope began sending back images of the universe. Picture of the penguin and the egg Galaxies. These are interacting galaxies called Orb 142, located 326 million light-years from Earth, captured by James Webb in Interacting Light.

The galaxies first interacted between 25 and 75 million years ago, triggering new star formation. Based on previous research, 100 to 200 stars form per year in the Penguin — yes, that’s the galaxy in the center of the image that looks like the bird’s head — while the Milky Way produces only six to seven new stars per year. . In this image by James Webb, the connection between the two galaxies is marked by a faintly glowing inverted U. Note that although the penguin appears to be larger than the egg star to its left, they have roughly the same mass. If a galaxy is small, they will have already merged.

In addition to the galaxies featured prominently in the image, you’ll also see more distant galaxies in the background. “This is a testament to the sensitivity and resolution of Webb’s infrared cameras,” the space agencies said. NASA and its partners will launch the James Webb Telescope in late 2021. The agencies released the first image ever captured, a deep image of the distant universe, in July 2022. Last year, they celebrated its first anniversary with a picture of nearby Nakshatra Nursery.

A small constellation on a black background.

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

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