NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope may have discovered a galaxy that is about 13.5 billion years old — making it the oldest and most distant galaxy ever observed. The galaxy, called GLASS-z13, was formed about 300 million years after the Big Bang, Rohan Naidu of the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University told AFP news agency Wednesday.
“We may be seeing the most distant starlight anyone has ever seen,” said the scientist. The discovery by a team of 25 astronomers from around the world is based on preliminary data from a space telescope instrument called NIRcam (Near Infrared Camera), which captures infrared rays.
When the data is visualized, the galaxy appears as a red circle with a brighter center. Although the evaluation has already been submitted to a specialist journal, it has not yet been independently verified by other scientists.
Astronomy records are already falling
Still, experts reacted enthusiastically to the potential discovery. “Astronomy records are already tumbling, and others are faltering,” NASA chief scientist Thomas Zurbuchen wrote on Twitter. He normally only celebrates this after the study results have been checked by other researchers. “But this looks promising.” His colleague Rohan Naidu explained that another team of astronomers analyzed the same data and came to a similar conclusion. “That gives us confidence.”
NASA released the first photos taken by James Webb last week. The spectacular images include 13 billion-year-old galaxies and the Carina Nebula, a cloud of cosmic dust and gas located 7,600 light-years from Earth.
Telescope 1.5 million kilometers from Earth
The “James Webb Space Telescope” (JWST, image below), also being built with Austrian participation, was launched in December after decades of preparation and some delay. It is now more than one and a half million kilometers from our earth.
The JWST studies the early days of the cosmos, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, about 13.8 billion years ago. Astronomers hope that the data sent into space from the observatory will allow them to draw conclusions about the formation of the first stars and galaxies. The telescope also scans the sky for exoplanets.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
