James Webb Space Telescope helps researchers unveil 6 new galaxies, check details here
2 min read 01 Jul 2023, 07:02 PM ISTPrior to JSWT launch in 2021, only a few dozen galaxies had been spotted at redshifts greater than 8. But JADES identified a whopping 717 galaxies that are probably in this range.
PremiumThe James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in June has helped researchers unveil and identify some of the earliest galaxies ever seen -- within the first 650 million years after the Universe was born in the Big Bang, reported nature.com.
The findings have revealed that stars and galaxies were forming and evolving much earlier than anyone had suspected.
As per details, known as the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), the project peered at several patches of sky. Though JWST operates mainly at infrared wavelengths of light, it makes it ideal for spotting extremely distant galaxies.
It is through redshift -- the higher the redshift, the more distant the object, and the astronomers measure distance in space.
Before JSWT launch in 2021, only a few dozen galaxies had been spotted at redshifts greater than 8. But JADES identified a whopping 717 galaxies that are probably in this range.
Here are 6 distant galaxies captured by JWST that are wowing astronomers:
1) The record holder (JADES-GS-z13-0): JWST discovered the galaxy, which lies at a redshift of 13.2 and is physically small, just a few hundred light-years across. As per Brant Robertson, an astronomer at the University of California, It is pumping out new stars at a rate comparable to the Milky Way today.
2) The glowing dog bone: This dog-bone-shaped object is at a redshift of 11.3, though its distance still needs to be confirmed.
3) GN-z11: It was first spotted with Hubble and at a redshift of 10.6. It is surprisingly bright at just 430 million years after the Big Bang.
4) The big clumpy one: At a redshift of 8, this galaxy lies around 300 million years later than the record holder.
5) The inside-out one: It was 700 million years after the Big Bang. This galaxy more stars forming in its outskirts than in its centre.
6) The cosmic rose: As per details, the galaxy lie at varying distances encompassing redshifts from 2.5 to 3.9.
