AI & Astronomy Imagery Exhibit

Colliding Spiral Galaxies from Webb and Hubble

Astronomy Picture of the Day: January 6, 2025

See APOD Explanation. — **Image Credit:** NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

APOD Explanation: Billions of years from now, only one of these two galaxies will remain. Until then, spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 will slowly pull each other apart, creating tides of matter, sheets of shocked gas, lanes of dark dust, bursts of star formation, and streams of cast-away stars. The featured image in scientifically assigned colors is a composite of Hubble exposures in visible light and Webb exposures in infrared light. Astronomers predict that NGC 2207, the larger galaxy on the right, will eventually incorporate IC 2163, the smaller galaxy on the left. In the most recent encounter that about peaked 40 million years ago, the smaller galaxy is swinging around counter-clockwise and is now slightly behind the larger galaxy. The space between stars is so vast that when galaxies collide, the stars in them usually do not collide.

AI Interpretations

AI Generated Description

The image showcases a breathtaking view of a pair of interacting galaxies, known as the Stephan's Quintet, with vibrant and intricate structures. The galaxies display dramatic spiral arms that swirl outward, filled with bright clusters of stars, gas, and dust, creating a stunning contrast against the backdrop of the universe. On the left side, one galaxy shines with a warm yellow and orange hue, indicating star formation and the presence of older stars. To the right, another galaxy exhibits a more muted, creamy-white color, suggesting differing compositions and star populations. The interaction between these galaxies is evident through the distorted and elongated shapes, indicating gravitational influences that warp their structures. Surrounding these primary subjects are countless distant stars and galaxies, which twinkle against the dark expanse of space. The overall appearance is one of cosmic beauty that's both dynamic and tranquil, capturing the majestic wonder of the universe and the ongoing processes of galaxy evolution and interaction. This image is a compelling reminder of the vastness and complexity of the cosmos.

AI Generated Images

Three spiral galaxies overlap in a diagonal line, with spiral arms from one pulling out and around the next galaxy. The central galaxy is mostly just a bright core, its arms spiraling out to either side towards its neighboring galaxies. The upper right galaxy is also mostly a core, but with two red arms surrounding it. The lower left galaxy has a smaller core, with blue clouds swirling around it.

AI Generated with Juggernaut XL V9

Three spiral galaxies sit in close proximity, but are inexplicably shown as not interacting. Each is a slightly different color, the large one on the left has violet spiral arms, the smallest one to the lower center has a blue tint, and the medium galaxy to the right has a single birght pink arm spiraling out from the center.

AI Generated with Juggernaut XL V9

Two galaxies sit extremely close to each other on the left side, with two smaller star clusters, maybe galaxies are nearby, one above and one below. A stark line of black intersects the image from top to bottom, making it look as if two separate pictures have been put together. Seven star clusters or galaxies are arranged in a ring on the right side, but at the bottom center of this ring is another stark black line separating two of the galaxies.

AI Generated with Stable Diffusion v1.4

An unlikely cluster of fuzzy galaxies. Most of them have a soft white-gold light from the center that reaches out in vague spirals over the galaxy's blue-er background stars. One galaxy in the lower right has pink shading instead. Many very bright stars fill the space between and around the galaxy.

AI Generated with Stable Diffusion v1.4

A collage of several spiral galaxies, each set against a starry background, with clear lines where the images are overlapping each other. The galaxies are all fuzzy spirals, without distinct shape or color, generally blue on the outer edges, with red veins throughout and a white central core.

AI Generated with OpenJourney v4

Four spiral galaxies are arranged in a square. The two on the left are interacting, with blue streams of stars pulling away from the galaxy on the top and moving towards the larger lower galaxy. The two galaies on the right have a distinct swirl pattern of red dust and gas their blue background stars. Many bright stars are scattered across the field between and around the galaxies.

AI Generated with SD PhotoReal Photo V2

Discussion

This photo captures the collision of two galaxies happening about 80 million light-years away. While ChatGPT was able to ascertain that two galaxies are interacting, it incorrectly named them as being part of Stephan's Quintent, a famous example of interacting galaxies. Though the predominate color used to highlight features in the photograph is red, the written description focuses on the yellow and white cores.

The images created by the generative AI program Invoke are very unexpected. Despite the explanation clearly stating that there are two galaxies in the photo, the image generation models almost always insisted on including at least three, and often several, galaxies. Unlike many of the other AI generated images featured in this exhibit, many of these feel very much like they are collages, patchworks of different images stuck together.