The Hubble Space Telescope continues to scout on behalf of the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope to guide future astronomy work.
A stunning new image released by Hubble officials shows a single example of that collaboration: a pair of galaxies known as Arp 298, interacting 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus.
More prominent in the image is the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7469, which is known to have a supermassive black hole in its center. (This galaxy has the same shape as the Milky Way and may be useful for comparative studies of barred spirals.) Also visible is the smaller, but still spectacular, IC 5283 galaxy.
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“The ‘Arp’ in this galaxy pair’s name signifies that they are listed in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies compiled by the astronomer Halton Arp,” Hubble officials wrote in a statement. “The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies is a rogues’ gallery of weird and wonderful galaxies containing peculiar structures, featuring galaxies exhibiting everything from segmented spiral arms to concentric rings.”
Before long, scientists will be able to compare Hubble’s work with that of Webb’s, as Arp 298 will be one of the first science targets of Webb’s observations starting in summer 2022, Hubble officials said. Webb is now aligning its mirrors as part of a months-long commissioning period, following its launch Dec. 25.
But if you want another view before summer, Hubble has you covered. The telescope also imaged the same approximate area back in 2008, focusing that time on using infrared to highlight a starburst.
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