--- title: "James Webb Reveals Mysteriously Powerful “Engine” of Two Merging Galaxies" description: "Astronomers, using the James Webb Space Telescope, have now pinpointed the location of an \"engine\" overpowering a galactic merger with infrared light." date: "2023-02-08" modified: "2023-02-08" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/james-webb-engine-merging-galaxies" categories: - "James Webb Space Telescope" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "galaxies" - "james webb space telescope" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # James Webb Reveals Mysteriously Powerful “Engine” of Two Merging Galaxies ![Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have now pinpointed the location of an "engine" overpowering a galactic merger with infrared light.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Cosmic Engineering Twelve years ago, researchers noticed that two colliding galaxies some 500 million light-years away were [emitting a copious amount]() of infrared light. While the precise origin of the illumination was impossible to pinpoint at the time, they were convinced the infrared illumination may have come from a "powerful energy source." Somewhere in that galactic merger known as IIZw096, was what the researchers called the "engine" of the collision. And now, using the NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which is capable of delivering the [deepest infrared images]() ever taken of the universe, they've finally revealed where this mysterious entity resides once and for all, as detailed in [a paper]() published in *The Astrophysical Journal Letters* late last year. "We wanted to find the 'engine' that powers this merging galaxy system," explained study author Hanae Inami, an assistant professor at Hiroshima University's Astrophysical Science Center, in a new [press release](). "We knew that this source was deeply hidden by cosmic dust, so we could not use visible or ultraviolet light to find it." "Only in the mid-infrared, observed with the James Webb Space Telescope, do we now see that this source outshines everything else in these merging galaxies," he added. https://twitter.com/HiroshimaUnivEn/status/1623230323600359424 ## Small Source, Shining Bright According to the researchers, the engine accounted for up to a whopping 70 percent of all the infrared light emitted from the merger — an astounding proportion, considering how small it is at a mere 570 light-years. To put that number into perspective, the entire system spans 65,000 light-years. "It is intriguing that this compact source, far from the galactic centers, dominates the infrared luminosity of the system," said co-author and Hiroshima University researcher Thomas Bohn, who compared its size to a speck of pepper on a white egg. In some ways, their findings incur more questions than answers. What exactly could be making this galactic engine so luminous? Inami proposes that it could be a starburst or a massive black hole, but the team won't know for sure without an extensive follow-up investigation, and perhaps observations. "It is also unusual that the 'engine' lies outside of the main parts of the merging galaxies, so we will explore how this powerful source ended up there," Inami added. **More on the cosmos:** *[Scientists Find "One in Ten Billion" Star System Primed to Explode in Titanic Kilonova]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()