The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has spotted not one but two of the oldest and most distant galaxies ever seen, continuing to break the records it has set previously.
Record-Breaking Observations from JWST
The powerful infrared telescope has discovered what appears to be the two earliest and farthest galaxies in the known universe. The details of the discovery are discussed in the paper "A shining cosmic dawn: spectroscopic confirmation of two luminous galaxies at z∼14."
The newly detected galaxies are officially named JADES-GS-z14-0 and JADES-GS-z14-1. They were found in a region of space called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. This area was earlier observed by the Hubble Space Telescope which revealed galaxies from the first 800 million years of our cosmos.
However, the light from even older galaxies required powerful infrared tools to detect. This is due to the fact that this light had shifted into infrared wavelengths while moving across the expanding universe. Led by Professor Stefano Carniani from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, the research team examined the Hubble Ultra Deep Field for five days using JWST's Near-Infrared Camera.
The research team found signs of hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the surrounding gas after studying the wavelengths of light released by the galaxy. These particles are common in young, star-forming galaxies. However, the team reported that spotting these light signatures at very distant wavelengths is unprecedented.
The stellar systems date to only 300 million years after the birth of the cosmos. They broke the records set by another galaxy duo found by JWST last year, which dates back to around 330 million years after the Big Bang. This discovery pushes back our understanding of cosmic dawn even further.
According to Carniani, it is remarkable that the Universe can make these galaxies in only 300 million years. Aside from being exceptionally old, they are also unusually huge for such an ancient time in cosmic history.
Surprising Features of JADES-GS-z14-0
The larger of the two galaxies, JADES-GS-z14-0, measures an estimated 1,600 light-years across. According to the astronomers, its impressive size and brightness is likely due to the young and actively forming stars, instead of a supermassive black hole which would be detected as a much smaller light source.
The discovery of this huge stellar system adds to the evidence that the earliest galaxies in the cosmos grew up much faster than the predicted rate by the leading theories of cosmology. The experts also noted that the James Webb Space Telescope could have spotted JADES-GS-z14-0 even if its light was ten times fainter than what was detected. This raises hopes that JWST can soon reveal more ancient objects in the distant regions of the cosmos.
JADES-GS-z14-0 also surprised the scientists with its light which was found to be redder than expected. This is because the light from this galaxy is being reddened by dust within the stellar system. The same dust will become the building blocks of stars that will help JADES-GS-z14-0 grow even larger.
Another surprising feature of JADES-GS-z14-0 is the presence of oxygen. Elements that are heavier than hydrogen and helium are built by stellar objects during their lifetimes.
These elements will then be distributed through galaxies when the stars explode. The discovery of oxygen atoms in JADES-GS-z14-0 implies that at least one generation of stellar objects has already been born and died in this ancient galaxy.
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