A new record has been achieved in the field of astronomy: observations using the James Webb Space Telescope They have found the most distant galaxy knownWhich existed less than 300 million years ago after the Big Bang.
The resulting image, taken in January this year by NIRCAM (Near Infrared Camera) of Deep extragalactic study Advanced research by James Webb has revealed data that has been used to decide which galaxies should be studied more closely. Spectroscopic observations.
The discovery of liquid light, the fascinating “fifth state of matter.”
Thus, one of these galaxies, JADES-GS-Z14-0 (shown enlarged), was identified at a redshift of 14.32 (+0.08/-0.20), Breaking the previous record of 13.2. And if that wasn’t enough, astronomers have noted that it is, at its core, a very luminous galaxy, which undoubtedly raises eyebrows Scientific benefit from the discovery.
What is JADES-GS-Z14-0, the most distant galaxy on record?
From the pictures it appears that the source Its diameter is more than 1,600 light-yearsWhich shows that the light we see comes mainly from young stars and not from near-A emissions Giant black hole increase.
“This much starlight indicates that the galaxy’s mass is hundreds of millions of times more massive than the Sun! This begs the question: How could nature create such a large, massive, and bright galaxy in less than 300 million years?Ask Stefano Cargnani of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, and Kevin Heinlein of the University of Arizona in Tucson, authors of the new research, in Statement from NASA.
With the data obtained, astronomers confirm that JADES-GS-z14-0 Not like the types of galaxies that theoretical models Computer simulations predicted regarding Early universe. “Given the observed brightness of the source, we can predict how it has grown over cosmic time, up until now We have not found any suitable counterpart “Among hundreds of other high-redshift galaxies we observed in our study.”
Good handwriting by James Webb
The discovery occurred in a frame A prolific moment for James Webb. In recent days, NASA’s telescope has made other discoveries worth highlighting, such as mapping the planet Orion Nebula In depth, or revealing a Black hole merger In the distant universe.
James Webb discovered merging galaxies and black holes
In the first case, an international consortium of 120 scientists pointed the Webb Space Telescope at Orion’s bar, deep in the nebula, and collected A treasure trove of images and spectral data The researchers noted that this “will serve as a reference point for astrophysical research in the coming decades.”
Regarding the black hole merger, which was also detected in May 2024, it is about The furthest it’s ever gotten This is the first time this phenomenon has been identified so early in the universe, indicating the existence of massive black holes Shaping the evolution of galaxies Since the beginning of time.
Despite all this, the discovery of JADES-GS-z14-0, the most distant known galaxy, constitutes another example of… The technological power of James WebbIt is the tool with which astronomers hope to find many of these bright galaxies over the next decade.
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