Thanks to a cosmic magnifying glass effect, the gravity of a large galaxy cluster is twisting two distant interacting galaxies behind it, making them appear more than once to form a familiar shape. Although NASA Hubble has observed the spiral before, the dusty red galaxy has only been imaged by Webb. The dust traps light at short wavelengths while allowing infrared light to pass through. The question mark is a galaxy in the right position from our point of view, but unrelated in space-time. The lensing effect allows astronomers to detect specific areas of star formation. The active star formation and the remarkably intact spiral structure of the neighbouring galaxy suggest that the interaction of these galaxies is still in its infancy.

Image Description:

Hundreds of small galaxies against the black background of space. Several white spiral galaxies near the image centre. Most of the galaxies are various shades of orange and red, and many are too small to discern a shape. A handful of stars in the foreground show Webb's six diffraction spikes.

Image credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Vicente Estrada-Carpenter (Saint Mary's University)