The James Webb Telescope breaks its own record by finding the most distant galaxy known

The James Webb Space Telescope has surpassed its own observation range record by discovering the oldest and most distant galaxy ever discovered, which existed 290 million years after Earth. the great explosionNASA announced this Thursday (30).

The US Space Agency explained that the galaxy presents characteristics that have “profound implications” for understanding the early years of the universe. Stefano Cargnani and Kevin Heinlein, researchers involved in the discovery, said in a statement that the so-called JADES-GS-z14-0 “is not the type of galaxy predicted by theoretical models and computer simulations” in the early universe. “We are fascinated by the extraordinary diversity of galaxies that existed at cosmic dawn,” they added.

The discovery breaks the record for the telescope itself

In astronomy, observing distant stars is the same as going back in time. For example, it takes eight minutes for sunlight to reach Earth, so we see the Sun as it was eight minutes ago. If we look even further, it is possible to see these objects as they were billions of years ago. When the glow from the most distant galaxies reaches Earth, the expansion of the universe expands and converts that light into infrared, a spectrum that James Webb can detect with unprecedented clarity.

This space telescope operates only in the infrared spectrum to explore the younger universe, which is one of its main missions. Since its launch in December 2021, James Webb has observed galaxies far, far away, but today’s announcement sees him surpass his own record.

It is estimated that the light from this new galaxy took more than 13.5 billion years to reach Earth (Earth). the great explosion Dating back to 13.8 billion years ago). According to NASA, this galaxy is “exceptionally bright, given its distance,” and its mass is estimated to be hundreds of millions of times greater than the mass of the Sun.

This discovery beats the previous record for the oldest known galaxy, JADES-GS-z13-0, which existed 320 million years after Earth. the great explosion. One of the questions scientists have raised with this news is: “How could nature create such a large, massive, and bright galaxy in less than 300 million years?” The James Webb Space Telescope is located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth and is used by scientists around the world for research.