You might be tempted to say that after almost two years since it was launched by NASA, the James Webb Space Telescope doesn’t have much to show anymore. Well, you should definitely bite your tongue! The current-gen telescope confirms month after month that it’s the most advanced space telescope ever built.
The James Webb Space Telescope has now captured a mesmerizing photo of Arp 220, meaning an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy that emits hundreds of times more light than our own Milky Way galaxy. Arp 220 also represents the outcome of two spiral galaxies colliding with one another. Also, the resulting celestial objects shine brighter than a trillion stars the size of our Sun.
hey girl, are you an ULIRG? because you shine brighter than a trillion suns ✨
Arp 220 is an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) that emits 300 times more light than the Milky Way. It also happens to glow brightest in infrared light, Webb's specialty: https://t.co/EF5ygizgyA pic.twitter.com/KRgQ03DI3e
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) April 17, 2023
Arp 220 is located about 250 million light-years away, all the way in the constellation Serpens. The collision of the two galaxies that led to the formation of Arp 220 began roughly 700 million years ago.
NASA explained:
Shining like a brilliant beacon amidst a sea of galaxies, Arp 220 lights up the night sky in this view from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Actually two spiral galaxies in the process of merging, Arp 220 glows brightest in infrared light, making it an ideal target for Webb. It is an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) with a luminosity of more than a trillion suns. In comparison, our Milky Way galaxy has a much more modest luminosity of about ten billion suns.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will never stop getting its ducks in a row and focusing more and more on the mysteries of the cosmos; the telescope aims to focus on more galaxies and stars in the near future.
Let’s never forget the fact that the known Universe is teeming with unexplored stars, galaxies, and planets. Space telescopes and astronomers will never run out of homework. Even if they can’t figure out what’s the deal with a specific galaxy or star, there are plenty more fish in the sea. Or, in our case, in the Universe.
