This is Arp 142, also affectionately known
as "The Penguin and the Egg."
In this stunning image, we witness
two interacting galaxies: NGC 2936 and NGC 2937.
The nickname comes from their remarkable resemblance
to these objects.
Arp 142 is located 326 million light-years
from Earth in the constellation Hydra,
about 130 times farther away than Andromeda, our nearest
galactic neighbor.
While our Milky Way and Andromeda are separated by about
2.5 million light-years, the Penguin and the Egg are about
100,000 light-years apart --
relatively close in astronomical terms!
The Penguin is somewhat larger across than the Milky Way,
and the Egg is much more compact.
Over the next several hundreds of millions of years,
these galaxies will merge into a single entity,
creating a dramatic (yet very gradual) cosmic event.
This image vividly highlights the interaction
between the two galaxies.
The Penguin galaxy, originally a spiral like our Milky Way,
has become significantly more distorted
than the egg, an elliptical galaxy,
due to their cosmic encounter.
Compared to previous images, like this one from the Hubble
Space Telescope, this new view from the Webb Space Telescope
offers a different perspective.
In this image, we see a blue haze around the Penguin.
The haze is a result of the two galaxies mingling.
The Penguin's "tail" brims with a stunning mix of distant
background galaxies, gas, dust, and the glow of newly formed
stars.
The "beak" is a region rich with gas and dust.
As a spiral elliptical-galaxy interaction.
NGC 2936 stands out because of its active star-forming regions.
The "beak" of the Penguin is the brightest starburst area.
This image highlights the important role
that mergers play in how galaxies evolve over time.
Before their interaction, the Penguin galaxy
had a spiral shape.
In this image, we can still see that original shape in the "eye"
of the Penguin, which was the bulge or center of the spiral
galaxy.
The Egg is an elliptical galaxy filled with aging stars.
This galaxy remains less distorted than the Penguin
because of its compact structure,
and lower amounts of gas and dust.
Although this image focuses on two distinct galaxies,
a third galaxy attempts to steal the show.
In the top right, we can see the spiral galaxy
cataloged as PGC 1237172.
This galaxy was barely visible in the mid-infrared image alone,
but stands out clearly in the composite image.
Although the galaxy appears prominently here,
it's not part of Arp 142.
This foreground galaxy is much closer to us.
The largest stars near the galaxy
are also closer than they appear.
These stars are local interlopers --
stars from our own galaxy that just happened to be in the same
line of sight.
These interloping stars are only thousands of light-years
away, while the galaxy is about 230 million light-years distant.
These objects offer a fascinating perspective
on the vastness of space.
Another noticeable feature is the color differences
between the near-infrared and mid-infrared views.
The different colors are due to how
different combinations of distance and dust
show up in different wavelengths of light.
Notice that if a dot has diffraction spikes,
we can identify it as a star rather than a galaxy.
There are more wonders present than we can see.
Many regions in this image likely
contain newly forming stars and exoplanets,
though they are too far away to see directly.
This phenomenon, common in all galaxies,
is especially fascinating here because the merger
has created new areas for star and planet formation.
As Webb continues its observations,
we can expect more groundbreaking discoveries
and a deeper understanding of our universe.
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