With the ability to “peer into the past,” NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is providing unprecedented insights into the early universe.
The two newly discovered galaxies are located in the outer region of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744. Image: NASA/ESA/CSA
According to research published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters on November 17th, the space telescope James Webb has observed two of the oldest and most distant galaxies in the cosmos, including GLASS-z12, which shone 350 million years after the Big Bang, and GLASS-z10, which formed about 100 million years later.
Previously, the oldest known ancient galaxy was GN-z11, appearing 400 million years after the Big Bang and discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2016. The Big Bang occurred approximately 13.8 billion years ago.
This discovery was made after only four days of data analysis as part of the Grism Lens Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS) and the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS).
Galaxy GLASS-z10 (1) and galaxy GLASS-z12 (2). Image: NASA/ESA/CSA
It’s an “anomaly” for astronomers because they are very distant yet incredibly bright. According to Erica Nelson, an assistant professor of astrophysical physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder and co-author of the research, the early universe is very chaotic and crowded, but the structure of these two galaxies seems orderly and serene. They appear spherical or disk-shaped, with sizes only a fraction of the Milky Way.
“This is an entirely new chapter in astronomy. It’s like an archaeological dig, and suddenly you find a hidden city or something no one knew existed. It’s incredible!” emphasized co-author Paola Santini, a researcher at the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome, Italy.
While the new discovery is fascinating, the research team notes that the ages of these two galaxies are not yet fully confirmed and further spectral analysis is required. If the initial calculations are accurate, it could change how astronomers understand galaxies and star formation in the early stages of the universe.
(Source: CNN/Guardian)