These galaxies are moving closer together and spinning in a slow cosmic dance. They will eventually become a single giant galaxy, creating a supermassive black hole at the center.
Rather than a rapid explosion such as a collision, this merger is a long process in which galaxies gradually merge with each other due to their gravitational attraction.
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 passed close to each other years ago. Now they are approaching each other again with their gravitational forces.
This process causes gas clouds in galaxies to compress and give birth to new stars.
This star formation, triggered by the interaction of galaxies, can be clearly seen in glowing blue colors in Hubble’s ultraviolet light images.
Star birth brings not only brightness but also stellar deaths through powerful supernovae.
These explosions compress the surrounding gas, causing the birth of new stars, and this cycle turns into an endless cycle of birth and death.
JWST’s mid-infrared camera reveals the distribution of dust in galaxies in fine detail, in complex spider-web-like shapes.
This dust appears as another indicator of star formation in galaxies.
