                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2025 January 6
   Two spiral galaxies are pictured on the left and right. They galaxy on
   the left is smaller. Both show red lanes of dust in their spiral arms.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

               Colliding Spiral Galaxies from Webb and Hubble
                     Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

   Explanation: Billions of years from now, only one of these two galaxies
   will remain. Until then, spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 will
   slowly pull each other apart, creating tides of matter, sheets of
   shocked gas, lanes of dark dust, bursts of star formation, and streams
   of cast-away stars. The featured image in scientifically assigned
   colors is a composite of Hubble exposures in visible light and Webb
   exposures in infrared light. Astronomers predict that NGC 2207, the
   larger galaxy on the right, will eventually incorporate IC 2163, the
   smaller galaxy on the left. In the most recent encounter that about
   peaked 40 million years ago, the smaller galaxy is swinging around
   counter-clockwise and is now slightly behind the larger galaxy. The
   space between stars is so vast that when galaxies collide, the stars in
   them usually do not collide.

                Jigsaw Challenge: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
                     Tomorrow's picture: double red sky
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

