NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed that galaxies in the early universe were not primarily round in shape, but instead resembled elongated shapes like surfboards or pool noodles. This discovery, based on analysis of near-infrared images from the CEERS survey, represents an important discovery about the structure of early galaxies and extends the insights provided by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Steve Finkelstein (UT Austin), Micaela Bagley (UT Austin), Rebecca Larson (UT Austin)
Hang ten! Researchers using the Webb found that many distant galaxies have flat, elliptical disks or tubes, rather than spiral or elliptical structures.
Ready to hit the cosmic “wave” james webb space telescopeLike a lifeguard on duty, Webb scanned the horizon and discovered distant galaxies shaped like volleyballs, Frisbees, pool noodles, and surfboards.?
Researchers analyzing Webb’s data also found that galaxies shaped like surfboards or pool noodles were far more common when the universe was 600 million to 6 billion years old. discovered. This is in contrast to what we have previously seen with other telescopes for galaxies much closer to the “beach.” Nearby galaxies are often well-defined spirals with star-studded arms, which also resemble a Frisbee, and which also resemble smooth ovals, making them look like volleyballs .
It is not yet clear whether the shapes of our first galaxies evolved over the entire time of the universe. Future research is needed to uncover how the galaxy’s 3D shape has changed over its more than 13 billion years.
![3D classification of distant galaxies in Webb's CEERS survey](https://scitechdaily.com/images/3D-Classifications-for-Distant-Galaxies-in-Webbs-CEERS-Survey-777x518.jpg)
These are examples of distant galaxies captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope during the Cosmic Evolution and Early Emission Science (CEERS) survey.
Recent research in the CEERS field, led by NASA Hubble Fellow Viraj Pandya of Columbia University in New York, shows that galaxies appear flat and elongated, like pool noodles or surfboards (along the top row). It was shown that there are many
Thin disc-shaped galaxies, resembling Frisbees, are the next major group (lower left and center).
Finally, spherical, or volleyball-shaped, galaxies made up the smallest portion of the detected galaxies (bottom right).
All of these galaxies are estimated to have existed between 600 million and 6 billion years after the universe began.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Steve Finkelstein (UT Austin), Micaela Bagley (UT Austin), Rebecca Larson (UT Austin)
Webb shows many early galaxies looked like pool noodles or surfboards
researchers are analyzing images NASAThe James Webb Space Telescope discovered that galaxies in the early universe were often flat and elongated, like a surfboard or a pool noodle, and rarely as round as a volleyball or Frisbee. “Roughly 50 to 80 percent of the galaxies we studied appear flat in two dimensions,” explained lead author and fellow NASA Hubble researcher Viraj Pandya. columbia university In New York. “This is surprising because galaxies that look like pool noodles or surfboards seem to be very common in the early universe, but are rare up close.”
The research team focused on the vast near-infrared images provided by the Webb, known as the Cosmic Evolution and Early Emission Science (CEERS) Survey, and found that the universe is estimated to have existed between 600 million and 6 billion years ago. We extracted galaxies.
Most distant galaxies look like surfboards or pool noodles, but some are shaped like Frisbees or volleyballs. ‘Volleyball’, or spherical, galaxies appear to be the most compact type in the cosmic ‘ocean’ and are the least frequently seen. Frisbees turn out to be as large as galaxies in the shape of surfboards or pool noodles along the “horizon,” but they become more common the closer you get to the “shore” of nearby space. (Please compare in the figure below.)
![Early galaxy shapes detected by Webb](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Early-Galaxy-Shapes-Detected-by-Webb-777x437.jpg)
Pandya’s team identified four main classifications, shown above as both 3D objects and cross-sections. These are ordered from least to most frequent.
At the top left, Webb’s research shows a classification of spherical or volleyball-shaped galaxies, which were rare in the early universe but common today.
At the top right there is a flat disc or Frisbee, which is only slightly more common.
The predominant shape of the galaxy during this early period appears flat and elongated, like a surfboard shown in the lower left or a pool noodle shown in the lower right. This pair of classes accounts for about 50-80% of all distant galaxies studied to date. This is surprising because these shapes are rare in the vicinity.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Viraj Pandya (Columbia), Haowen Zhang (University of Arizona), Lucy Reading-Ikanda (Simons Foundation)
Which category will be ours milky way What would happen to our galaxy if we could turn back the clock billions of years? “Our best guess is that it was more like a surfboard,” says co-author Haowen Zhang, a doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona in Tucson. This hypothesis is based in part on new evidence from Mr. Webb. Theorists “rewind the clock” to estimate the Milky Way’s mass billions of years ago, and its mass correlates with its shape at the time.
These distant galaxies are much less massive than nearby spiral and elliptical galaxies and are precursors to more massive galaxies like our own. “In the early Universe, galaxies had much less time to grow,” said co-author Karltej Iyer, also a NASA Hubble fellow at Columbia University. “It would be interesting to identify additional categories of early galaxies. There is currently a lot to analyze. We are currently studying how the shape of galaxies is related to their appearance and Now we can project in more detail how it was formed.”
![milky way galaxy infographic](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Milky-Way-Galaxy-Infographic-777x1022.jpg)
At the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a supermassive black hole surrounded by a central bulge of old, yellowish stars. Beyond is a bluish spiral arm filled with young stars, newly formed stars, and dark bands of dust. Credit: NASA and STScI
Webb’s sensitivity, high-resolution images, and expertise in infrared light allowed the team to quickly characterize many CEERS galaxies and model their 3D shapes. Pandya also said that their work would not have been possible without the extensive research astronomers have done using NASA satellites. hubble space telescope.
For decades, Hubble has amazed us with images of some of the earliest galaxies, starting with the very first galaxies. “Deep Field” 1995 And we continue to conduct an original survey known as the Cosmic Assemblage Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Heritage Survey. These deep-sky surveys yielded far better statistics and allowed astronomers to create robust 3D models of distant galaxies all over the world. cosmic time. Now, Webb is helping to strengthen these efforts, adding thousands of distant galaxies beyond Hubble’s reach and revealing the early Universe in far more detail than previously possible.
![Part of the Cosmic Evolutionary Early Emission Science (CEERS) study](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Portion-of-Cosmic-Evolution-Early-Release-Science-CEERS-Survey-777x448.jpg)
This is part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Emission Science (CEERS) survey, which consists of several near-infrared pointings from the NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) aboard the James Webb Space Telescope. These observations are within the same region studied by the Hubble Space Telescope, known as the Extended Growth Strip.
The north and east compass arrows indicate the direction of the image in the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east in the sky (when viewed from below) is reversed with respect to the directional arrows on the map on the ground (when viewed from above).
This image shows invisible near-infrared wavelengths converted to visible light colors. The color key indicates which NIRCam filter was used when collecting the light. The color in each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.
The scale bar is labeled in arcseconds, a measure of angular distance to the sky. One arcsecond is equivalent to an angular measurement of 1/3600 of a degree. There are 60 arc seconds in 1 degree and 60 arc seconds in 1 minute. (The angular diameter of a full moon is about 30 arc minutes.) The actual size of an object covering 1 arc second in the sky depends on its distance from the telescope.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Steve Finkelstein (UT Austin), Micaela Bagley (UT Austin)
The web’s images of the early universe acted like a swell in the ocean, bringing in new waves of evidence. “Hubble has long shown an excess of elongated galaxies,” explained co-author Mark Huertas Company, a researcher at the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics. But researchers still had doubts. “Would being more sensitive to infrared light show additional details better?” Webb confirmed that Hubble did not miss any additional features of the galaxies they both observed. showed many more distant galaxies with similar shapes, all in great detail.”
There are still gaps in our knowledge. Researchers need even larger sample sizes from the Webb to further refine the properties and precise locations of distant galaxies, as well as to adjust and update their models to better reflect their precise shapes. You also need to invest enough time. of a distant galaxy. “These are early results,” said co-author Elizabeth McGrath, an associate professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. “We need to look deeper into the data to figure out what’s going on, but we’re very excited about these early trends.”
Reference: “Galaxies Going Bananas: Inferring the 3D Geometry of High-Redshift Galaxies with JWST-CEERS” Viraj Pandya, Haowen Zhang, Marc Huertas-Company, Kartheik G. Iyer, Elizabeth McGrath, Guillermo Barro, Steven L. Finkelstein, Martin By Kuemmel, William G. Hartley, Henry C. Ferguson, Ceyhan S. Cartaltepe, Joel Primack, Abishai Dekel, Sandra M. Faber, David C. Koo, Greg L. Bryan, Rachel S. Somerville, Ricardo O. Amorim, Pablo Alabaljaro, Michaela B. Bagley, Eric F. Bell, Emmanuel Bertin, Luca Costantin, Romel Dave, Mark Dickinson, Robert Feldman, Adriano Fontana, Rafael Gavazzi, Mauro Javarisco, Andrea… Grazian, Norman A. Grogin, Yucheng Guo, Zhanghun Hahn, Ben W. Holwerda, Lisa J. Curie, Alison Kirkpatrick, Anton M. Kekemore, Jennifer M. Lotz, Ray A. Lucas, Laura Pentelich, Pablo G. Perez-Gonzalez, Nor Pirschkar, Dale D. Koczewski, Casey Papovich, Swara Rabindranath, Caitlin Rose, Mark Schaefer, Raymond C. Simmons, Amber N. – Strahan, Sandro Tacella, Jonathan R. Trump, Alexander de la Vega, Stephen M. Wilkins, Stijn Weitz, Guan Yang, LY Aaron Yong, acceptance; of astrophysical journal.
arXiv:2310.15232
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb unravels the mysteries of our solar system, looks to distant worlds around other stars, and explores the mysterious structure and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA and its partner ESA (european space agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.