APOD: 2022 July 18 - Stephans Quintet from Webb, Hubble, and Subaru

Continuing with the backlog edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is this from yesterday: "Stephan's Quintet from Webb, Hubble, and Subaru." We know that teamwork is essential in the Armed Forces. It's no different in science: the strengths of one platform are force multipliers when leveraged against another. Consider the new Webb telescope: while it has a larger mirror than Hubble, it specializes in infrared light. It cannot see blue/ultraviolet. Hubble, though it has a smaller mirror, can image in both blue and ultraviolet. Subaru emphasizes visible light, with technologies to account for any atmospheric distortions.

Combine the three, and something almost magical happens. Stephan's Quintet is a visual grouping of five galaxies visible in the constellation Pegasus, and was discovered by Édouard Stephan in 1877. The brightest member of the visual grouping (and the only non-member of the true group) is NGC 7320 (leftmost in this image), which has extensive H II regions (where active star formation is occurring). The infrared power of the Webb Telescope really comes through.