Webb Explores a Pair of Merging Galaxies

Here, the Webb Picture of the Month of merging galaxies IC 1623 A and B is juxtaposed with a new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. In the Webb MIRI image, the bright core, heated gas and dust, and young star forming regions are all visible. The Hubble and Webb NIRCAM images show the galaxies distorted spiral arms, while MIRI reveals the faint ghostly glow of interstellar dust.

[Image description: The image consists of three panels, each depicting the two merging galaxies on a dark background. The left panel is labelled “Optical Hubble/WFC3 & ACS”, the middle “Near-infrared Webb/NIRCam” and the right “Mid-infrared Webb/MIRI”. In the MIRI image, only the bright core, heated gas and bubbles of star formation are visible. The other two images also show the galaxies’ spiral arms.]