Glittering new James Webb telescope image shows an 'intricate web of chaos' — Space photo of the week

A stark new portrait of two colliding spiral galaxies combines different kinds of light to evoke the colors, shapes and moods of autumn. The image, which shows the galaxies NGC 2207 (lower right) and IC 2163 (upper left), was created by combining infrared light captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) with X-ray light from the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are locked in a slow gravitational merge that, by chance, is seen face-on from the solar system. The larger galaxy, NGC 2207, dominates the field, while the smaller IC 2163 overlaps its outer regions. The gravitational pull of each galaxy distorts the other's spiral arms, stretching out streams of stars and gas and compressing gas and dust in ways that can ignite new stars. The result is an intricate web of chaos.

One of JWST's core tasks, according to NASA, is to provide scientists with a clear view of the centers of merging galaxies and thereby inform a new generation of models that will describe how galaxies interact and merge. NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are the perfect targets.

In the image, JWST's midinfrared data appear in white, gray and red, primarily showing the dust and cooler material within the galaxies' cores and spiral arms. Chandra's X-ray data are shown in blue, highlighting high-energy regions of the two galaxies — binary stars, the remnants of dead stars, and regions where supernovas have occurred.

The spectacular layered image of NGC 2207 and IC 2163 is one of four Chandra-based composites that were published at the same time. The other three include NGC 6334, a star-forming region known for its arcs of glowing gas and dust; supernova remnant G272.2-0.3, where hot X-ray-emitting gas fills an expanding shell; and a star system called R Aquarii, where a white dwarf star sucks material from a red giant star.

Each image merges Chandra's view of the high-energy universe with data from JWST (launched in 2021), the Hubble Space Telescope (launched in 1990) and the Spitzer Space Telescope (active between 2003 and 2020), as well as from ground-based telescopes.

For more sublime space images, check out our Space Photo of the Week archives.