Take a deep look at these galaxies. They appear to be bleeding from the upper part of the fleshless face. The long, terrifying “sight” of its burning core-like eyes glows in the ultimate cosmic darkness. Until now these galaxies were just grazing each other. The smaller spiral on the left, cataloged as IC 2163, very slowly “creeped” behind spiral galaxy NGC 2207 on the right, millions of years ago.

The pair’s eerie colors represent a combination of mid-infrared light from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and visible and ultraviolet light from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Look for possible evidence of “light scratches” in shock fronts where material from galaxies may have collided. These lines, shown in brighter red, including the “eyelids”, can give rise to bulging, vein-like arms of galaxies.

The initial passage of galaxies may also have distorted their delicate arcuate arms and pulled outward tidal extensions in various places. An example of this activity may be the scattered small spiral arms between the core of IC 2163 and its leftmost arm. Even more tendrils appear to hang between the galaxies’ cores. Another extension “drags” over the top of the larger galaxy, forming a thin, translucent arm that extends almost beyond the screen.

Both galaxies have a high rate of star formation, like countless individual hearts fluttering in their arms. Galaxies produce the equivalent of two dozen new Sun-sized stars every year. Our Milky Way galaxy produces the equivalent of only two or three new Sun-like stars per year.

Both galaxies have hosted seven known supernovae in recent years; This is a huge number compared to the average star every 50 years in the Milky Way. Each supernova can empty space in the arms of galaxies, rearranging the then-cooling gas and dust and allowing many new stars to form.

To see the “sequence” of star formation, look at the bright blue regions captured by Hubble in ultraviolet light and the mostly pink and white regions detailed by Webb’s mid-infrared data. Large regions of stars are called super star clusters. Look for examples of this in the uppermost spiral arm, which hovers over the larger galaxy and points to the left.

Other bright regions in galaxies are mini starbursts, where many stars form one after the other. Also, the upper and lower eyelids of IC 2163, the smaller galaxy on the left, are filled with new star formation and are burning brightly.

What’s next for these spirals? Galaxies can constantly oscillate near each other for millions of years. It’s possible for their core and arms to merge, leaving completely reshaped arms and an even brighter, Cyclops-like “eye” in the core. As stores of gas and dust are depleted, star formation will slow and the landscape will calm down.