High-quality photo of the merger of two galaxies (2 photos)

NASA has publishedbreathtaking image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. The photograph shows two spiral galaxies in the process of merging to form the Arp 220 galaxy.

Arp 220 is an ultra-bright infrared galaxy with a radiance equivalent to over a trillion sun-like stars. This makes it 100 times brighter than the Milky Way.

The galaxy is located in the constellation Serpens, at a distance of about 250 million light years from our solar system.

According to scientists, the formation of Arp 220 beganabout 700 million years ago due to the merger of two galaxies, which triggered an explosion of star formation. Experts have discovered about 200 star clusters located in a dense dusty region with a diameter of about 5000 light years.

Telescope "James Webb" helped researchersstudy the cores of two parent galaxies separated from each other at a distance of 1200 light years. A rotating star-forming ring is found around each nucleus, emitting bright infrared light.

Source: nasa