Astronomers using James Webb Telescope observe 'merging of galaxies'

[Judi Lynn]

OCT. 20, 2022 / 3:27 PM

By Joe Fisher



Oct. 20 (UPI) -- An international team of scientists discovered the merging of galaxies using images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA reported Thursday.

The telescope has captured numerous jaw-dropping images since its deployment in last December. According to research published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, one of the latest images reveals galaxies in transition.

A cluster of at least three galaxies swirl around a red quasar -- a bright, galactic nucleus powered by a supermassive blackhole. The report from NASA said this new revelation will "expand our understanding of how galaxy clusters in the early universe came together and formed the cosmic web we see today."

"With previous images, we thought we saw hints that the galaxy was possibly interacting with other galaxies on the path to merger because their shapes get distorted in the process and we thought we maybe saw that," said co-principal investigator Nadia L. Zakamska, a Johns Hopkins astrophysicist and one of the founders of the project. "But after we got the Webb data, I was like, 'I have no idea what we're even looking at here, what is all this stuff!' We spent several weeks just staring and staring at these images."

More:
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2022/10/20/7041666288645/