Arp 142

Interacting galaxies Arp 142 (MIRI image) (weic2420b).jpg
(c) NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, CC BY 4.0
Webb’s mid-infrared view of interacting galaxies Arp 142 seems to sing in primary colours. The background of space is like a yawning darkness speckled with bright, multi-coloured beads.This image was taken by MIRI, the telescope’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument, which astronomers use to study cooler and older objects, dust, and extremely distant galaxies.Here, the Egg appears as an exceptionally small teal oval with gauzy layers. Mid-infrared light predominantly shows the oldest stars in the elliptical galaxy, which has lost or used up most of its gas and dust. This is why the view is so different from the combined image, which includes near-infrared light.At right, the Penguin’s shape is relatively unchanged. The MIRI image shows all the gas and dust that has been distorted and stretched, as well as the smoke-like material, in blue, that includes carbon-containing molecules, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.Next, look for the edge-on galaxy catalogued PGC 1237172 at the top right — a dim, hazy line. Find it by looking for the bright blue star with small diffraction spikes positioned over the top of its left edge. This galaxy nearly disappears in mid-infrared light because its stars are very young and the galaxy isn’t overflowing with dust.Now, scan the full image left to right to spot distant galaxies in the background. The red objects are encased in thick layers of dust. Some are spiral galaxies and others are more distant galaxies that can only be detected as dots or smudges. Green galaxies are laden with dust and are farther away. Bluer galaxies are closer. Zoom in carefully to see if a blue dot has minuscule diffraction spikes — those are stars, not galaxies.[Image description: Two interacting galaxies known as Arp 142 in a horizontal image taken in mid-infrared light. At left is NGC 2937, which looks like a tiny teal oval and is nicknamed the Egg. At right is NGC 2936, nicknamed the Penguin, which is significantly larger and looks like a bird with a fanned tail.]

Heic1311a.jpg
Autor/Urheber: Image credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), Lizenz: CC BY 3.0
Hubble image of Arp 142

This image shows the two galaxies interacting. NGC 2936, once a standard spiral galaxy, and NGC 2937, a smaller elliptical, bear a striking resemblance to a penguin guarding its egg. This image is a combination of visible and infrared light, created from data gathered by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 3 (WFC3).

Credit:

NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

About the Object

Name:	Arp 142, NGC 2936, NGC 2937
Type:	• Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
• Hubble Images Videos
• Galaxies Images/Videos
Distance:	400 million light years

Colours & filters Band Wavelength Telescope

Optical B	475 nm	Hubble Space Telescope WFC3
Optical V	606 nm	Hubble Space Telescope WFC3
Infrared I	814 nm	Hubble Space Telescope WFC3

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Interacting galaxies Arp 142 (NIRCam image) (weic2420f).jpg
(c) NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, CC BY 4.0
The distorted spiral galaxy at the centre, the Penguin, and the compact elliptical galaxy at the left, the Egg, are locked in an active embrace. A new near- and mid-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, taken to mark its second year of science, shows that their interaction is marked by a faint upside-down U-shaped blue glow.The pair, known jointly as Arp 142, made their first pass between 25 and 75 million years ago — causing ‘fireworks’, or new star formation, in the Penguin. In the most extreme cases, mergers can cause galaxies to form thousands of new stars per year for a few million years. For the Penguin, research has shown that about 100 to 200 stars have formed per year. By comparison, our Milky Way galaxy (which is not interacting with a galaxy of the same size) forms roughly six to seven new stars per year.This gravitational shimmy also remade the Penguin’s appearance. Its coiled spiral arms unwound, and gas and dust were pulled in an array of directions, like it was releasing confetti. It is rare for individual stars to collide when galaxies interact (space is vast), but the galaxies’ mingling disrupts their stars’ orbits.Today, the Penguin’s galactic centre looks like an eye set within a head, and the galaxy has prominent star trails that take the shape of a beak, backbone, and fanned-out tail. A faint, but prominent dust lane extends from its beak down to its tail.Despite the Penguin appearing far larger than the Egg, these galaxies have approximately the same mass. This is one reason why the smaller-looking Egg hasn’t yet merged with the Penguin. (If one was less massive, it may have merged earlier.)The oval Egg is filled with old stars, and little gas and dust, which is why it isn’t sending out ‘streamers’ or tidal tails of its own and instead has maintained a compact oval shape. If you look closely, the Egg has four prominent diffraction spikes — the galaxy’s stars are so concentrated that it gleams.Now, find the bright, edge-on galaxy at top right. It may look like a party crasher, but it’s not nearby. Cataloged PGC 1237172, it lies 100 million light-years closer to Earth. It is relatively young and isn’t overflowing with dust, which is why it practically disappears in Webb’s mid-infrared view.The background of this image is overflowing with far more distant galaxies. This is a testament to the sensitivity and resolution of Webb’s infrared cameras.Arp 142 lies 326 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra.[Image description: Two interacting galaxies known as Arp 142. At left is NGC 2937, nicknamed the Egg for its appearance. At right is NGC 2936, nicknamed the Penguin for its appearance. The latter’s beak-like region points toward and above the Egg.]