Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Webb MIRI Image)

Extended Description

Two spiral galaxies take up almost the entire view, both set against the black background of space. They are roughly shaped like an angled masquerade mask that sits above the nose. The galaxy at left, IC 2163, is smaller than the galaxy at right, taking about a little over a quarter of the view, with edges of its spiral arms reaching the top left. The galaxy at bottom right, NGC 2207, takes up half the view, with edges of its spiral arms reaching the bottom. The two galaxies overlap at the center of the frame, with the smaller IC 2163 behind the larger NGC 2207.

IC 2163

IC 2163 has a bright white core. White dust lanes wind their way out from the core. One prominent white arm with flecks of pink stars starts around 2 o’clock and winds clockwise. It’s round where it loops around the bottom of the galaxy, and ends in a long, arced line at the upper left. Many other thinner and shorter dust lanes and star clusters fill in the area between this larger spiral arm’s edge and the galaxy’s core, like the ribs of a fan. Another prominent white spiral arm starts near 8 o’clock, winds tightly clockwise around the top of the galaxy’s core, and then lengthens out above the galaxy, behind the neighboring NGC 2207, ending in a long arc. The overlap makes it difficult to differentiate this arm from the larger galaxy.

NGC 2207

At right, NGC 2207, has a very bright core that is much larger. Thin white dust lanes are close to the core, spinning counter clockwise. This galaxy also has several large spiral arms. These large spiral arms are made of white filaments of dust that surround many dark circular or oval-shaped cavities. A thicker arm begins at the core, around 6 o’clock, spinning around in wider, less circular shape before it completes its first full loop around the core. This arm meets the top spiral arm of IC 2163, continues to travel toward the bottom, and fans out to meet other white arms. What looks like two shorter arms are to the left of this lower area, closer to IC 2163, both pointing to the bottom left corner. The large arm continues winding around the galaxy, ending at the 4 o’clock position. Another prominent spiral arm begins at the galaxy’s core near 12 o’clock, winding counter clockwise around the core, maintaining a tighter, but loose circle near the core. It lengthens out a bit after that, winding toward the top again, with a wide lane. When it winds around to meet IC 2163 at its left, its ragged arm covers part of the core of the smaller galaxy, ending just below it. There are many more significant areas of pink star clusters throughout this galaxy overall.

Background

Large portions of the bottom left and top right show the black background of space. The foreground is dotted with several stars, one at top left, two toward the top right, and one at bottom right, all blue with four prominent diffraction spikes. Extremely distant galaxies appear throughout the background, and are most often smaller smudges of yellow, orange, pink, and red.

Image Alt Text

Two spiral galaxies take up almost the entire view and appear to be overlapping. They are angled from top left to bottom right. The galaxy at left, IC 2163, is smaller and more compact than the galaxy at right, NGC 2207. The background of space is black, dotted with tiny foreground stars and extremely distant galaxies.