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A Tour of IC 2163 and NGC 2207

This video tours a pair of spiral galaxies, IC 2163 at left and NGC 2207 at right, which reside 114 million light-years from Earth.

The journey begins and ends on a new image that combines mid-infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light from the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes, and includes brief fades to Webb’s mid-infrared image and Hubble’s visible and ultraviolet light image.

Watch as these spellbinding observations are pulled apart, and then presented again as a combined observation. 

The tour features star formation in chilling detail, blood-red shock fronts, and traces of ancient supernova explosions that “echo” through the cosmic landscape.

  • Release Date
    October 31, 2024
  • Science Release
    ‘Blood-Soaked’ Eyes: NASA’s Webb, Hubble Examine Galaxy Pair
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Video: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI)

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Related Images & Videos

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

Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Webb and Hubble Image)

The gruesome palette of these galaxies is owed to a mix of mid-infrared light from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, and visible and ultraviolet light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The pair grazed one another millions of years ago. The smaller spiral on the left,...

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.

Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Webb MIRI Image)

The James Webb Space Telescope’s mid-infrared image of galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 recalls the iciness of long-dead bones mixed with eerie vapors. Two large luminous “eyes” lie at the galaxies’ cores, and gauzy spiral arms reach out into the vast distances of space. Webb’s...

Two views of the same object are shown side by side, split evenly. The Hubble observation is at left, and the Webb observation is at right. Both show an angled pair of spiral galaxies, IC 2163 at top left, and NGC 2207, at bottom right.

Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Hubble and Webb Images Side by Side)

These are two views of the same scene, each showing two overlapping spiral galaxies, IC 2163 at left and NGC 2207 at right. The Hubble Space Telescope’s ultraviolet- and visible-light observation is at left, and the James Webb Space Telescope’s mid-infrared light observation is...

A graphic labeled “Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes; Spiral Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207.” At the center are two overlapping spiral galaxies set against the black background of space.

Galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207 (Webb and Hubble Compass Image)

This image of galaxies IC 2163 and NGC 2207, captured by the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. Hubble’s data are from its Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). Webb’s data are from its MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). The image shows a scale bar, compass arrows, and color...

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Video Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI)

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