Two views of the same object are shown side by side, split evenly. The Hubble ultraviolet and visible light observation is at left, and the Webb mid-infrared observation is at right. Both show an angled pair of spiral galaxies, IC 2163 at top left, and NGC 2207, at bottom right. They appear to be overlapping at the center diagonal, with the smaller IC 2163 behind the larger NGC 2207.

Hubble’s Ultraviolet and Visible Light View

In the Hubble image, the galaxies’ cores appear white at the center, and more orange overall. IC 2163 has dark brown, irregularly shaped dust lanes covering is core. The smaller IC 2163 has two prominent spiral arms that wind clockwise, and become straighter at the ends. The arms are bluer, and brighter near the core, but are also covered in brown dust lanes. The straighter edges of the spiral arms are bluer. NGC 2207 has a small white core surrounded by a white ring made from a haze of stars. The galaxy also has dust lanes that are clearest near to its core, and more that lie beyond but are harder to pick out. Its prominent blue spiral arms are irregular, but significantly larger. Tiny galaxies and a few foreground stars dot the black background of space. Since the image is rotated to match the Webb image, there are no data along the bottom left, top right, and bottom right corners.

Webb’s Mid-Infrared Light View

In the Webb image, the galaxies’ cores appear bright white, transitioning to spiral arms that are also bright white, but flecked with pink dots. IC 2163 shows thin, highly detailed, winding dust lanes and spiral arms that start at the core. Its arms follow the same paths, becoming straighter toward the edges. At right, NGC 2207 also has a bright white core, which is immediately surrounded by thinner dust lanes. It has wider spiral arms than IC 2163 that wind counter clockwise. The arms are irregular, forming a wider, rougher spiral shape. Tiny galaxies and a few foreground stars dot the entire black background of space.