Watching the James Webb Space Telescope in action is similar to witnessing a flawless adaptation of a cherished novel. I distinctly recall the pre-launch days when its triumph was purely theoretical. Nearly every JWST press release contained exclamations such as “reveal an unfiltered universe!” “penetrate through dust barriers!” and “transport us to uncharted territories!” To reach these milestones, experts claimed the technology must first accomplish exceptional tasks such as “journeying a million miles from Earth!” and “fine-tuning each of its gilded mirrors and unprecedented infrared sensors!”
It seemed like an unrealistic fantasy, but once the launch occurred, it became evident that the storyline of this film would be taken directly from the book’s pages. Effortlessly, the JWST journeyed a million miles away from our planet, calibrated its invaluable instruments, exposed what can be described as an unadulterated universe, and penetrated through the barriers of interstellar interference to discover vibrant newborn stars and aged, ruddy galaxies. Time and time again, it led us to unexplored realms. It seems that the conclusion of the JWST saga is nowhere near in the foreseeable future.
NASA reported on Thursday that an impressive discovery has uncovered a cluster of galaxies situated in the far reaches of the universe, previously undetected by other telescopes used by mankind.
Two papers were released this week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters detailing the discovery of two particularly remarkable galaxies within the cluster. These two small galaxies, only a fraction of the size of our Milky Way, are believed to have formed roughly 350 million and 450 million years after the Big Bang (placing them squarely at the very beginning of time).
“Incredibly fascinating” is how Garth Illingworth, professor emeritus of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz and one of the paper’s co-authors, described what they have discovered. “These galaxies must have begun merging perhaps only 100 million years after the Big Bang. No one anticipated that the dark ages would have ended so soon,” he stated.
Enlarge the Image.
The Webb Space Telescope photographs depict two of the most distant galaxies observed so far, situated in the outskirts of the Abell 2744 galaxy cluster. Although not technically located within the cluster, these galaxies lie billions of light-years beyond it. Galaxy 1 is estimated to have come into existence merely 450 million years following the occurrence of the Big Bang, while Galaxy 2 emerged 350 million years thereafter.
NASA, ESA, CSA, Tommaso Treu (UCLA); Image Processing: Zolt G. Levay (STScI)
The baton is now passed to JWST creators
According to the team, the initial discovery required four days of analysis and involved two of JWST’s research initiatives, namely the Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS) and the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey (CEERS).
“In the epoch when these galaxies originated,” Illingworth stated, “the primordial universe was merely 1% of its present age. It constitutes a negligible time span within the constantly evolving 13.8-billion-year-old cosmos.”
In addition, the JWST’s observation of the twinkling galaxies’ light indicates that they are exceptionally luminous. “Although we still need to verify the distances of these early sources through spectroscopy, their extraordinary brightness is perplexing and demands an explanation for our comprehension of galaxy formation,” stated Pascal Oesch, a researcher at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and the co-author of one of the studies.
According to Illingworth, it is possible that the galaxy pair’s high luminosity is a result of their previous abundance of low-mass stars. Alternatively, they may have fewer but extremely bright and large stars.
“In order to verify this, only Webb spectra will be able to provide confirmation,” stated Adriano Fontana, a co-author of one of the studies and a member of the GLASS-JWST team.
The JWST has previously captured a view of a dazzling and magnificent cosmic scene that was not visible to Hubble’s eyes. According to its distance, GLASS-z12, one of the galaxies that has piqued researchers’ interest and believed to have existed 350 million years following the Big Bang, may establish a new record. Previously, the oldest (or youngest?) galaxy ever observed was GN-z11, discovered using the Hubble and Keck Observatory in 2016, and it existed 400 million years after the Big Bang.
“In just making these observations, your head is sure to be blown away,” stated Paula Santini, co-author of one of the studies. “This marks an entirely new era in astronomy. It’s similar to an archaeological excavation, when out of the blue you discover a lost city or something entirely unexpected. The immensity of it all is just mind-blowing.”
Erica Nelson from the University of Colorado, a co-author of one of the studies, was amazed by the ability to measure the shapes of these galaxies. She mentioned, “Their serene, well-organized disks challenge our comprehension of the formation of the first galaxies in the packed, turbulent early universe.”
The galaxies we observe today, such as the Milky Way, Andromeda, and other massive giants, would have been vastly different.
What is the meaning behind all the “z’s”?
You may have noticed that many galaxy names, such as GLASS-z12 and GN-z11, contain the letter “z” followed by a number. This is because it refers to the galaxy’s redshift.
Essentially, redshift is utilized by scientists to ascertain the distance between our telescopes and the targeted object. This phenomenon owes its name to the fact that when objects move away from Earth, in step with the expansion of the universe, the wavelengths of light they emit become elongated, resulting in redder hues. Objects that appear more red, and hence are farther away, possess higher z values, whereas those that appear less red have lower z values.
This image depicts the effect of redshift on light emitted by galaxies in motion away from the Earth, and is attributed to NASA/JPL-Caltech//R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC).
“One of the studies was led by Rohan Naidu of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who expressed surprise at how Webb was able to capture the farthest starlight ever observed within mere days of releasing its initial data.”
In August, Naidu created a buzz after uncovering a “Schrodinger’s Galaxy Candidate.” Essentially, this galaxy could possess an extraordinary redshift value of z=17. This area of study may eventually unlock the mystery of whether numerous crucial physics models withstand the test of time, as we would be analyzing the universe from shortly after our clocks started ticking. However, the “Schrodinger’s galaxy candidate” label is appropriate since its actual nature remains shrouded in ambiguity.
Ah.
