The secrets of the universe have never been explored in the level of detail that NASA is able to achieve these days. In its search, the discoveries revealed are astonishing for their peculiarity and beauty. The unusual encounter of galaxies that the Webb telescope captured is another example of this.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has done it again. What discovery is it responsible for this time? It captured the galaxies NGC 2936 and NGC 2937, which resemble a penguin with an egg due to the shape of their star cluster. The images are attracting the attention of astronomy fans around the world.
Penguin Galaxies
«Penguins are excellent parents, even in space. A new Webb photo shows two galaxies, the Penguin (NGC 2936) and the Egg (NGC 2937). They are in a cosmic embrace, united by a blue haze of stars and gases.» This is what the official X account of the telescope says, with a certain poetic halo.
The agency added that the Penguin and the Egg have been moving closer for tens of millions of years. It follows that they will eventually merge into a single galaxy. The current distance between NGC 2936 and NGC 2937 is about 100,000 light years. What does this equate to? About 25 times smaller than the distance between the Milky Way and the nearest galaxy to our own, which is about 2.5 million light years away.
Powerful telescope
The publication is dedicated to the second anniversary of the first photos taken by the James Webb telescope. This is the largest and most powerful space telescope launched by mankind. It is capable of detecting relatively cold planetary bodies located at distances of up to 100 astronomical units from the parent star. And it has the ability to obtain spectral lines from these planets. No other telescope has been able to do this so far. The unusual encounter of galaxies is another milestone in its history.
