The James Webb telescope has captured a "tremendous explosion of stars" caused by the collision of several galaxies, known collectively as "Arp 220," reports CNN. This exceptional photo was published on Monday by NASA.

Located about 250 million light-years from the Milky Way, "Arp 220" has the specificity of being 300 times brighter than our galaxy, say our American colleagues.


hey girl, are you an ULIRG? because you shine brighter than a trillion suns ✨

Arp 220 is an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) that emits 300 times more light than the Milky Way. It also happens to glow brightest in infrared light, Webb's specialty: https://t.co/EF5ygizgyA pic.twitter.com/KRgQ03DI3e

— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) April 17, 2023

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The brightest of the three galactic mergers

In this case, in NASA's words, the collision produced an infrared glow containing the light of more than a trillion (a billion billion) suns. For comparison, the Milky Way has a luminosity equivalent to ten billion suns.

The picture of this phenomenon was captured using data from the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) of the Webb telescope. Located in the constellation of Serpens, "Arp 220" is the brightest of the three closest galactic mergers to our planet.

Supernova remnants

According to CNN, "Arp 220" is itself the result of a collision that occurred 700 million years ago between two spiral galaxies, each containing up to several hundred billion stars. This encounter created about 200 gigantic star clusters spread over a distance of 5,000 light-years, or approximately 5% of the diameter of the Milky Way.



"The amount of gas contained in this tiny region is equal to the total gas contained in the Milky Way," said NASA, relayed by our colleagues from Numerama. As many as 100 supernova remnants, which are imploded stars, had already been observed by radio telescopes in this small area of less than 500 light-years.

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