James Webb telescope captures stunning resolution of Arp 107 collision

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured an image of a collision between a spiral galaxy and an elliptical galaxy. Together, they form a system known as Arp 107. Although this object had been studied before, it is only now that it has been photographed with such high resolution.

Arp 107 is a system of galaxies located in the constellation Leo Minor, roughly 140 million parsecs away from Earth. In 2005, the Spitzer Space Telescope observed it, but now, thanks to the James Webb Telescope, a far more detailed image has been obtained, with a resolution that was not previously achievable.

Astronomers created a composition of images obtained from two cameras operating in the mid-infrared and near-infrared – MIRI and NIRCam. NIRCam excellently shows stars within both galaxies and reveals the connection between them – a translucent, white bridge composed of stars and gas being drawn by both galaxies. MIRI, whose image is rendered in red-orange hues, reveals regions where new stars form and dust composed of organic molecules – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The MIRI camera has also revealed the core of the large spiral galaxy with a supermassive black hole at the centre, which looks somewhat like a smiling face in its current form. The spiral galaxy belongs to the so-called Seyfert galaxies, characterised by a very bright core. The source of this exceptionally bright light is most likely the matter falling into the central black hole.

The Arp 107 system resembles the famous Cartwheel Galaxy – one of the first interacting galaxy systems observed by the James Webb Telescope. According to the Polish Press Agency, Arp 107 may have once appeared very similar to the Cartwheel Galaxy. However, the smaller elliptical galaxy likely collided from the side rather than head-on, which allowed the spiral galaxy to avoid major destruction. Only its arms were disturbed.

Galaxy collisions do not necessarily signify something detrimental. They can facilitate star formation by compressing gas and enhancing conditions necessary for their formation. On the other hand, as observed by Webb, such collisions also scatter a significant amount of gas. This scattering can, in turn, deprive new stars of the material needed for their formation.

The James Webb Space Telescope recorded the Arp 107 galaxies during the merging process, which can last for hundreds of millions of years. Scientists predict that when the galaxies rebuild after the chaos caused by the collision, the system may lose its "smile." However, it could transform into something intriguing and worthy of future astronomers' attention.