This summer season, Webb Space Telescope imaged a pair of merging galaxies often known as IC 1623 A and B (collectively, simply IC 1623). Now, the veteran Hubble Space Telescope has captured a brand new shot of the identical pair, after first imaging them back in 2008. The variations within the two views showcase the various strengths of those telescopes, as one sees the universe primarily in seen and ultraviolet gentle and the opposite sees in infrared.

The galaxy merger was first found in 1897, and the Hubble and Webb telescopes provide exceptional views of the cosmic dance. The galaxies are about 270 million light-years from Earth, within the constellation Cetus. Stars within the galaxies are being fashioned about 20 instances sooner than stars within the Milky Way.

Webb primarily sees infrared and near-infrared wavelengths, that are redder than the reddest seen gentle. That permits the telescope to see a few of the most historic (redshifted) gentle within the universe, going again to simply a number of hundred million years after the Big Bang.

The $10 billion Webb telescope launched from French Guiana in December 2021; the precision of the telescope’s launch signifies that the mission lifetime might be so long as 20 years, a giant soar from the unique five-year mission plan.

Webb is the most recent and biggest, however its predecessor remains to be kicking. Hubble launched in 1990 and since then has been one in all humankind’s most helpful instruments for learning the cosmos. The growing old telescope has stuttered lately, however it continues to ship photos primarily on the seen and ultraviolet wavelengths, which Webb doesn’t. For that motive, the oldsters at NASA think about Webb to be Hubble’s successor reasonably than its alternative.

The two telescopes’ photos of the galaxy pair showcase their respective capabilities. The system is shiny within the infrared, making it a smart goal for Webb. The intense star formation within the merger produces infrared gentle, however a thick band of mud has blocked a number of the galaxy’s element from view for years.

Webb is ready to pierce by way of clouds of mud, to see greater than what Hubble can. Its picture of the galaxy merger—a vibrant starburst of purple and blue—cuts proper by way of the obfuscating mud current within the Hubble picture. The background galaxies are additionally a lot clearer in Webb’s rendition.

As Webb’s exploration of the cosmos continues, it nearly definitely will seize extra views first seen by Hubble, like its latest shot of the Pillars of Creation. Wherever Webb seems subsequent, needless to say Hubble helped pave the way in which.

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