17.8 billion years ago the beginning of everything known occurred: the big Bang. The enormous explosion of gases and matter gave rise to the visible Universe that exists today. The Webb telescope looks for galaxies that formed just after the explosion. Thanks to them, the discovery of the oldest galaxy was achieved.
It is located “only” 290 million years after the Big Bang. Astronomers call the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang the Cosmic Dawn. In this search the galaxy called JADES-GS-z14-0 appeared. “It is not the type of galaxy predicted by theoretical models and computer simulations in the early universe,” they indicate.
distant light
This galaxy must be intrinsically very luminous. From the images, it is discovered that the source is more than 1,600 light years in diameter. This implies that the galaxy has several hundred million times the mass of the Sun.
In astronomy, seeing far away is the same as going back in time. It takes eight minutes for sunlight to reach the Earth and that is why we see the Sun as it was eight minutes ago. By looking even further, it is possible to perceive these objects as they were billions of years ago.
Relevance of the Webb
The galaxy shows signs of oxygen, suggesting the existence of multiple generations of stars in its early days. The presence of oxygen at such an early stage in the life of this galaxy is a surprise. It suggests that multiple generations of very massive stars had already lived their lives before we observed the galaxy.
This discovery not only expands our knowledge of the early universe. It also highlights the James Webb Space Telescope’s ability to revolutionize modern astronomy. It is 1.5 million kilometers from Earth and is used by scientists around the world for research. Thanks to Webb we know of the discovery of the oldest galaxy… at least until now.
