A Pair of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | Webb & Chandra Space Telescopes

A Pair of Merging Galaxies: IC 1623 | Webb & Chandra Space Telescopes

A new eye-catching compilation of images is being released that features data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory along with a host of other telescopes, including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

IC 1623 is a system where two galaxies are in the process of merging. As the galaxies collide, they trigger new bursts of star formation that glow dramatically in certain kinds of light. The merging galaxies may also be in the process of forming a supermassive black hole.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%. NASA's total budget will become the lowest since 1961, after accounting for inflation.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe budget cuts at NASA:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (PDF): https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

X-rays from Chandra (magenta) with Webb infrared data (red, gold and gray)

Image Description: Backed by hot pink tendrils, swirls of speckled orange, and gauzy steel blue ribbons, two white clusters meet, gleaming with golden shafts of light.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; IR: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and J. Major
Release Date: Aug. 22, 2025

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