The James Webb Telescope has been doing a bang-up job in sending new and exciting images back to us. All in a clarity never before seen by any previous telescope. Its newest images is never-before-seen. A nebula in the process of birthing new stars. But within that spectacular image, smack dab in the center, is a very familiar symbol. A question mark. Glowing orange and vibrant, and where your eye moves immediately as something recognizable.
According to the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, it’s a galaxy being distorted by another. “It is probably a distant galaxy, or potentially interacting galaxies (their interactions may have caused the distorted question mark-shape),” STScI tells Space.com. “This may be the first time we’ve seen this particular object. Additional follow-up would be required to figure out what it is with any certainty. Webb is showing us many new, distant galaxies — so there’s a lot of new science to be done!”
Matt Caplan, Illinois State University physics professor, says it’s possible that two galaxies are in the process of merging. “The two distinct features could easily be merging galaxies in the background, with the upper part of the question mark being part of a larger galaxy getting tidally disrupted. Given the color of some of the other background galaxies, this doesn’t seem like the worst explanation. Despite how chaotic mergers are, double lobed objects with curvy tails extending away from them are very typical.”
There was also there recent gravitational arcs spotted the El Gordo Galaxy Cluster, a MUST see.
