The distorted spiral galaxy at the centre (the Penguin) and the compact elliptical galaxy at the left (the Egg), taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
The James Webb image shows the Penguin galaxy’s shape being altered by the nearby Egg galaxy, which has an equal mass but far less gas to be disrupted.
The James Webb Space Telescope has shined new light on two galaxies that are swirling around each other and will eventually merge together.
These two galaxies – named the Penguin and the Egg for their appearances – have been in a cosmic dance for tens of millions of years. This dance has caused the Penguin to lose its original spiral shape, becoming scattered from the gravitational pull of the Egg.
The release of this new image coincided with the two-year anniversary of James Webb’s first colour image in 2022, when a stunning view of the distant universe was released to the world. Since then, it has released a wave of stunning images to help us learn more about cosmic phenomena.
“Since president Biden and vice-president Harris unveiled the first image from the James Webb Space Telescope two years ago, Webb has continued to unlock the mysteries of the universe,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. “With remarkable images from the corners of the cosmos, going back nearly to the beginning of time, Webb’s capabilities are shedding new light on our celestial surroundings and inspiring future generations of scientists, astronomers and explorers.”
An uneven relationship
The latest image shows the much larger-looking Penguin galaxy (NGC 2936) swirling next to the more compact Egg galaxy (NGC 2937). NASA says these two galaxies first began interacting between 25m and 75m years ago, when the Penguin and the Egg completed their first pass.
Now, the galactic centre of the once-spiralled Penguin galaxy looks like an eye, while the thinner areas of the galaxy have crashed into waves as a result of the ongoing ‘dance’, making the beak and tail sections that are visible in the image.
While much smaller visibly than the Penguin, the Egg galaxy looks relatively unaffected by the ongoing interaction. This is because it is an elliptical galaxy that is filled with aging stars, which means it has a lot less gas, dust and thinner regions that can be pulled away.
Despite the visible size difference, these two galaxies have approximately the same mass or heft, which also explains why the smaller-looking elliptical wasn’t consumed or distorted by the Penguin.
It is estimated that the Penguin and the Egg are about 100,000 light-years apart, which is quite close in astronomical terms. The Milky Way galaxy and its nearest neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, are about 2.5m light-years apart. These two galaxies will enter their own dance in the future, but that won’t happen until around 4bn years from now.
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