Astronomers have discovered a unique galaxy merger, dubbed the "Cosmic Owl," using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This rare event offers unprecedented insights into galactic evolution and the dynamics of the early universe.
The Cosmic Owl consists of two colliding ring galaxies, located 8.8 billion light-years away in the constellation Sextans. The merger, observed at a redshift of 1.14, provides a glimpse into galactic interactions during the universe's adolescence. The discovery was led by Dr. Mingyu Li of Tsinghua University, utilizing data from JWST, ALMA, and VLA.
Each galaxy in the Cosmic Owl has a diameter of approximately 26,000 light-years, with active galactic nuclei (AGN) at their cores. The collision has triggered intense star formation, offering valuable insights into galaxy formation and evolution. Further research will focus on numerical simulations to understand the formation of such rare morphologies.