ⓘ NASA
An image of the James Webb Space Telescope
Webb found the earliest and most distant galaxy ever observed — MoM-z14. In this observation, Webb is seeing the galaxy as it was 280 million years after the Big Bang. The observation is reshaping our understanding of what our universe looked like in its early years.
Since its launch, Webb has been taking science closer to observing the early universe. This time around, Webb looked as far back as 280 million years after the Big Bang. It found a bright galaxy called MoM-z14.
Astronomers are normally able to estimate the distance of galaxies from their images. But with Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), they were able to confirm exactly how far back in time the MoM-z14 galaxy existed. Webb’s NIRSpec confirmed that the galaxy has a cosmological redshift of 14.44. What this means is that since the light from the galaxy has been traveling through space, the universe has expanded its wavelength 14.44 times.
MoM-z14’s brightness and high nitrogen content also drew attention. MoM-z14’s brightness is 100 times more than theoretical studies previously predicted. For its high nitrogen, astronomers suspect that it is due to supermassive stars in the galaxy. The theory holds that the dense environment of the universe resulted in these supermassive stars, which could produce high amounts of nitrogen.
Another interesting thing the astronomers discovered is that MoM-z14 shows signs of reionization. Reionization is a process that ionizes neutral hydrogen. This neutral hydrogen forms a thick fog that light cannot pass through. But when ionized, the fog clears. One of Webb’s missions is to define the timeline of this clearing period. And now, the MoM-z14 discovery has provided another clue to help Webb on that quest.
A paper containing details of this discovery was published in the Open Journal of Astrophysics.
Webb image of galaxy MoM-z14
Chibuike Okpara – Tech Writer – 386 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2024
I have always been fascinated by technology and digital devices my entire life and even got addicted to it. I have always marveled at the intricacy of even the simplest digital devices and systems around us. I have been writing and publishing articles online for about 6 years now, just about a year ago, I found myself lost in the marvel of smartphones and laptops we have in our hands every day. I developed a passion for learning about new devices and technologies that come with them and at some point, I asked myself, “Why not get into writing tech articles?” It is useless to say I followed up the idea — it is evident. I am an open-minded individual who derives an infinite amount of joy from researching and discovering new information, I believe there is so much to learn and such a short life to live, so I put my time to good use — learning new things. I am a ‘bookworm’ of the internet and digital devices. When I am not writing, you will find me on my devices still, I do explore and admire the beauty of nature and creatures. I am a fast learner and quickly adapt to changes, always looking forward to new adventures.