James Webb Space Telescope Catches First Galaxies Forming
Researchers witness formation of universe's earliest galaxies, 13.3-13.4 billion yrs ago.
For the first time in the history of astronomy, researchers have witnessed the birth of three of the earliest galaxies in the universe, somewhere between 13.3 and 13.4 billion years ago.
Image credit: NASA
- Researchers at the University of Copenhagen’s Niels Bohr Institute have witnessed the birth of three of the universe’s earliest galaxies, dating back to around 13.3-13.4 billion years ago.
- The discovery was made using the James Webb Space Telescope, which captured signals from large amounts of gas accumulating onto mini-galaxies in the process of being formed.
- This is the first time that galaxy formation has been directly observed, and it provides important knowledge about the universe’s early history.
- The galaxies are estimated to have formed around 400-600 million years after the Big Bang, during the Epoch of Reionization when the energy and light of some of the first galaxies broke through the hydrogen gas.
- The study adds to our understanding of how galaxies evolved in the early universe and sheds light on one of humanity’s most fundamental questions: “Where do we come from?”
- The research team has applied for more observation time with the James Webb Space Telescope to expand upon their new result and learn more about the earliest epoch in galaxy formation.