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Image of Galactic Pair shows potential of a Webb and Hubble team-up

Updated Oct 10th, 2022 10:35AM EDT
galactic pair showcasing james webb and hubble team-up
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Rogier Windhorst (ASU), William Keel (University of Alabama), Stuart Wyithe (University of Melbourne), JWST PEARLS Team IMAGE PROCESSING: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

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NASA has released a new image of a galactic pair known as VV 191. While beautiful, what makes the image truly special is the corroboration of data pulled from both the James Webb space telescope and the Hubble space telescope, which has proven that a Webb and Hubble team-up could provide some extraordinary data points for researchers to look into.

The image was created using the infrared data for which James Webb has become so well known. It’s this data that lets James Webb peer deeper into the heart of the Orion Nebula, and even deeper into the early universe in Webb’s first images. When combined with ultraviolet and visible light captured by Hubble, it really showcases the importance of keeping Hubble running for a James Webb and Hubble team-up.

NASA says that the image shows even more detail about how the two galaxies are interacting, as well as the galaxies around and beyond them. You can make out the long, dusty spiral arms that James Webb captured more clearly thanks to its infrared instruments. If we’re able to take data from both James Webb and Hubble to create more images like this, we could see the universe in a new light.

galactic pair showcasing james webb and hubble team-upImage source: NASA, ESA, CSA, Rogier Windhorst (ASU), William Keel (University of Alabama), Stuart Wyithe (University of Melbourne), JWST PEARLS Team IMAGE PROCESSING: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

A NASA post on the image says that VV 191 is one of a few galaxies that are helping researchers compare galactic dust’s properties directly from different galaxies. And, because the image contains data from James Webb and Hubble, it gives us the deepest look at the two we’ve even been able to accomplish.

Hopefully, this image is just the start of many other James Webb and Hubble team-ups. Together, the data from the two space telescopes could help us learn a lot about our universe. And, with James Webb already detecting carbon dioxide and other important compounds on distant planets, the power that both offer put together could be an unstoppable force for researchers.

More coverage: Wonder what ads in space would look like?

Josh Hawkins has been writing for over a decade, covering science, gaming, and tech culture. He also is a top-rated product reviewer with experience in extensively researched product comparisons, headphones, and gaming devices.

Whenever he isn’t busy writing about tech or gadgets, he can usually be found enjoying a new world in a video game, or tinkering with something on his computer.