Which compact galaxy group was imaged by JWST in its first release?

JWST’s first official image release included Stephan’s Quintet, a compact group of galaxies.

Stephan’s Quintet is a striking visual grouping in the constellation Pegasus. Four of its five prominent galaxies form the physical association known as Hickson Compact Group 92; the foreground galaxy NGC 7320 is much closer and only appears aligned with the others from Earth.

Webb’s 12 July 2022 image exposed intricate dust lanes, tidal tails and glowing gas produced by gravitational encounters. In particular, the galaxy NGC 7318B is plunging into the group’s gas at several million kilometres per hour, creating a vast shock wave and triggering complex infrared emission.

The word “quintet” can therefore be misleading: the scene contains five visible galaxies, but they are not all at the same distance. Another common mix-up is Hickson Compact Group 87, a different compact galaxy group; Stephan’s Quintet is classified as Hickson Compact Group 92.