Discovery of a 1.4 billion-year-old, metal-rich galaxy by James Webb
In a discovery that surprised Cornell University astronomers, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a 1.4 billion-year-old, metal-rich galaxy.
Analyzing data from the first image taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope of a famous early galaxy, Cornell University astronomers were surprised by the emission of a light bubble near the outer edge of the universe.
When scanning this image, this observation’s primary focus and target in the infrared spectrum was the galaxy SPT0418-47, one of the brightest dusty and star-forming galaxies in the early universe. It was observed that the light around it was bent by the gravity of a galaxy in the foreground and became circular (Einstein ring).
However, when the astronomers took a deeper look at James Webb’s previous data, they made an unexpected discovery: a companion galaxy that the light of the foreground galaxy had already overshadowed.
According to the estimates calculated by the researchers, this galaxy is about 1.4 billion years old, and despite its young age, it has surprisingly hosted several generations of stars.