NASA's Webb Space Telescope Captures Vivid Portrait of Interacting Galaxies

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured a near-infrared light view of Arp 142, nicknamed the Penguin and the Egg, in 2024. The distorted spiral galaxy at center, the Penguin, and the compact elliptical galaxy at 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. NASA/UPI