Like a protective parent, one galaxy looms high over the other, seemingly peering down at its neighbor. The two galaxies are designated NGC 2936 and NGC 2937 — but more famously, they’re known as the Penguin and the Egg.
The team behind the James Webb Space Telescope unveiled the new image of the pair on Friday, showing the two galaxies in more clarity than ever — and marking two years since the first image using the advanced telescope's infrared instruments was released.
“Webb is providing insights into longstanding mysteries about the early universe and ushering in a new era of studying distant worlds,” said Mark Clampin, director of NASA's astrophysics division, “while returning images that inspire people around the world and posing exciting new questions to answer.”