The James Webb Telescope has ushered in a new era of scientific discovery, providing never-before-seen images of the distant universe, allowing us to look back in time.
Astronomers Unveil JADES-GS-z14-0, the Most Distant Galaxy Ever Observed
On May 30th, NASA announced that the James Webb Space Telescope had discovered the galaxy believed to be the most distant ever observed. This galaxy, known as JADES-GS-z14-0, existed just 290 million years after the Big Bang, making it a brilliant beacon from the very early universe.
Deployed in July 2022, James Webb is the most powerful space telescope ever built and has opened a new window into the cosmos, providing unprecedented views of the distant universe.
Groundbreaking Discovery
The observation of JADES-GS-z14-0 upends astronomical predictions about the earliest galaxies formed after the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. "The discovery is profound," emphasized an international team of astronomers in a joint statement. "For the first time, we are seeing a galaxy that existed when the universe was only 2% of its current age."
Initially spotted earlier in 2023, the researchers needed additional observations to confirm JADES-GS-z14-0 as the most distant galaxy yet observed. "The brightness of the source was quite surprising, given how distant and young this galaxy is, and there is another galaxy close to it that together look like one giant object," said Stefano Carniani of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Italy, and Kevin Hainline of the University of Arizona.
Light from the Distant Past
As light from the most distant galaxies travels toward Earth, it stretches due to the expansion of the universe, shifting into the infrared region of the light spectrum. The James Webb Telescope is equipped to detect infrared light with unprecedented clarity.
Confirming observations were conducted in October 2023 and January 2024. The team used Webb's primary imaging instrument, NIRCam, and NIRSpec, which analyzes the light spectrum from an object to determine its physical properties.
Breaking Records
JADES-GS-z14-0 breaks the previous record for the oldest known galaxy, JADES-GS-z13-0, which existed 320 million years after the Big Bang. "This galaxy is remarkably bright," said Hainline after determining its age in January 2023. "The light that we're seeing is coming to us from just 2.5 minutes after the Big Bang, if the whole history of the universe were a two-hour movie."
Based on the images, JADES-GS-z14-0 is estimated to be 1,600 light-years across. The light from the stars within the galaxy reveals that it weighs hundreds of millions of times more than the Sun. Scientists are pondering how nature could produce such a bright and massive galaxy in less than 300 million years.
Complex Galaxy
Further analysis of the light emission revealed the presence of oxygen, another surprising discovery that suggests multiple generations of very large and heavy stars existed before the galaxy was observed. This overturns astronomical predictions about the earliest-forming galaxies after the Big Bang.
Future of Discovery
Researchers have only surveyed a relatively small portion of the night sky, and more luminous and earlier-formed galaxies are likely to be discovered in the coming years.