The second and fourth most distant galaxies ever observed (UNCOVER z-13 and UNCOVER z-12) were confirmed using the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam). These galaxies are located in the Pandora star cluster (Abell 2744), shown here as near-infrared wavelengths of light converted to visible light colors. The scale of the main cluster image is labeled in arcseconds, a measure of angular distance in the sky. The circle on the black-and-white image showing the galaxy within his NIRCam-F277W filter band on board JWST indicates an aperture size of 0.32 arcsec.Credits: Cluster image: NASA, UNCOVER (Bezanson et al., DIO: 10.48550/arXiv.2212.04026) Inset: NASA, UNCOVER (Wang et al., 2023) Composition: Dani Zemba/Pennsylvania State University
Follow-up observations of the Pandora galaxy cluster have identified the second and fourth most distant galaxies ever observed, confirming that they are larger than other galaxies at such extreme distances.
The second and fourth most distant galaxies ever observed have been discovered in a region of space known as the Pandora galaxy cluster, or Abell 2744. NASA‘s james webb space telescope (JWST). Following up on deep-field images of the region (see image below), an international team led by researchers at Penn State University confirmed the distances of these ancient galaxies, and discovered new spectroscopic data (emissions across the electromagnetic spectrum). information about the light) was used to infer their properties. JWST. Some 33 billion light-years away, these incredibly distant galaxies provide insight into how the earliest galaxies formed.
Unique appearance and significance
The researchers say that unlike other galaxies seen at this distance, which appear as red dots in images, the new galaxy is larger and looks like a peanut or a fluffy ball.A paper describing galaxies will be published today (November 13) in the journal Astrophysics Journal Letter.
![Pandora's star cluster (Webb NIRCam image)](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Pandoras-Cluster-Webb-NIRCam-Image-777x591.jpg 777w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Pandoras-Cluster-Webb-NIRCam-Image-400x304.jpg 400w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Pandoras-Cluster-Webb-NIRCam-Image-768x584.jpg 768w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Pandoras-Cluster-Webb-NIRCam-Image-1536x1169.jpg 1536w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Pandoras-Cluster-Webb-NIRCam-Image-2048x1558.jpg 2048w)
Astronomers estimate that 50,000 near-infrared sources are represented in this deep-field image of the Pandora star cluster from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. That light passes through various distances to reach the telescope’s detectors, creating a single image that depicts the vastness of the universe. Credits: Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ivo Labbe (Swinburne), Rachel Bezanson (University of Pittsburgh), Image processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
“We know very little about the early Universe. The only way to learn more about it and test theories about the formation and growth of early galaxies is to study these very distant galaxies,” said lead author said Bingjie Wang, a postdoctoral researcher at Pennsylvania State University.Eberly State University of Science and its members JWST UNCOVER (Pre-Reionization Era Ultradeep NIRSpec and NIRCam ObserVations) Team Who conducted the research? “Prior to our analysis, only three galaxies had been identified near such extreme distances. By studying these new galaxies and their properties, we will be able to explore the diversity of galaxies in the early Universe and It became clear how much we had to learn from that.”
Insights into the early universe
The light from these galaxies took a long time to reach Earth, so they provide a window into the past. The research team estimates that the light detected by JWST was emitted from two galaxies about 330 million years ago, when the universe was born, and traveled about 13.4 billion light years to reach JWST. However, researchers say that due to the expansion of the universe during this time, the galaxy is now nearly 33 billion light-years away from Earth.
“The light from these galaxies is ancient, about three times older than Earth,” says Joel Reja, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University and a member of UNCOVER. “These early galaxies are like lighthouses, with light shooting out through the very thin hydrogen gas that made up the early universe. Only by their light could the eccentricities that dominated galaxies near the dawn of the universe You can start to understand the physics.”
![webb telescope in space](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Webb-Telescope-in-Space-777x518.jpg 777w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Webb-Telescope-in-Space-400x267.jpg 400w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Webb-Telescope-in-Space-768x512.jpg 768w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Webb-Telescope-in-Space-1536x1024.jpg 1536w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Webb-Telescope-in-Space.jpg 1920w)
Scientists used the James Webb Space Telescope to discover two distant galaxies in the Pandora star cluster, providing new insights into the early Universe. These galaxies are unique in size and appearance, challenging our understanding of galaxy formation in the early Universe. Credit: NASA
Remarkably, these two galaxies are significantly larger than the three galaxies previously located at these extreme distances. One of them is at least six times larger, with a diameter of about 2,000 light years. For comparison, milky way It’s about 100,000 light-years in diameter, but Wang said it’s surprising that the galaxy is so large, since the early universe is thought to have been highly compressed.
“Galaxies discovered so far at these distances are point sources and appear as points in our images,” Wang said. “But one of ours looks elongated, almost like a peanut, and the other looks like a fluffy ball. The difference in size may explain how the star formed, or if it’s a star. It is unknown what happened after they formed, but the diversity of galaxies’ properties is very interesting. Although these early galaxies are expected to have formed from similar material, they already show signs of being very different from each other. It shows.”
research method
The two galaxies were among 60,000 light sources in the Pandora cluster detected in one of the first deep-field images taken by JWST in 2022, its first year of scientific activity. This region of space was chosen in part because it lies behind several galaxy clusters that create a natural magnifying effect called gravitational lensing. The combined gravitational force of the cluster’s mass distorts the surrounding space, concentrating and magnifying light passing nearby, providing a magnified view behind the cluster.
Within a few months, the UNCOVER team had narrowed down the 60,000 sources to 700 candidates for follow-up, eight of which they thought could be part of the first galaxy. JWST then pointed back to Pandora’s star cluster and recorded the candidate’s spectrum, a kind of fingerprint detailing how much light is emitted at each wavelength.
“Several different teams are using different approaches to look for these ancient galaxies, each with their own strengths and weaknesses,” Reya said. “The fact that we’re pointing this giant magnifying lens in space gives us an incredibly deep window, but it’s a very small window, so we’re rolling the dice. Some of the candidates were inconclusive and at least one was mistaken: it was closer, mimicking distant galaxies. But luckily, two of them were ancient galaxies. It turns out there is. It’s unbelievable.”
Characteristics and meaning
The researchers also used detailed models to infer the properties of these early galaxies when they emitted the light detected by JWST. As the researchers expected, the two galaxies were young, had very few metals in their composition, were growing rapidly, and were actively forming stars.
“The first elements were created in the centers of early stars through the process of nuclear fusion,” Reya said. “It’s no surprise that heavy elements like metals aren’t present in these early galaxies, because they were some of the first factories that produced those heavy elements. And of course, the first To become galaxies they must be young and star forming, but confirming these properties is an important fundamental test of the model and helps confirm the entire galaxy paradigm. . big bang theory. “
The researchers noted that, along with gravitational lensing, JWST’s powerful infrared instruments should be able to detect galaxies at even greater distances, if they exist.
“There’s a very small window in this region, and despite JWST’s capabilities, we haven’t been able to observe anything beyond these two galaxies,” Reya said. “That could mean that galaxies just didn’t form earlier and we don’t find any further away. Or it could mean that we weren’t lucky enough with a small window. yeah.”
This study is the result of a successful proposal submitted to NASA proposing ways to use JWST during the first year of scientific operations. For the first three cycles of submissions, NASA received proposals with four to 10 times more observation time on the telescope and had to select only a portion of the proposals.
“Our team was very excited and a little surprised when our proposal was accepted,” Reya said. “This involves adjustments, quick human action, and the telescope pointing at the same thing twice, which is a lot to ask of the first year of a telescope.” There was a lot of pressure because we only had a few months to make the decision. But JWST was built to discover these first galaxies, and we’re thrilled to be able to do it now. I am excited.”
Reference: “UNCOVER: Illumination the Early Universe—JWST/NIRSpecconfirmation of z > 12 Galaxies” Bingjie Wang, Bingji Wang, Seiji Fujimoto, Ivo Labbé, Lukas J. Furtak, Tim B. Miller, David J. Setton, Adi Written by Zitlin, Hakim Atek, Rachel Besancon, Gabriel Brammer, Joel Reha, Pascal A. Oesch, Sedna H. Price, Irina Chemerinska, Sam E. Cutler, Pratika Dayal, Peter van Dokkum , Andy D. Golding, Jenny E. Green, Y Fumoto, Gourav Kalar, Vasily Kokolev, Danilo Marchesini, Richard Pan, John R. Weaver, Katherine E. Whitaker, Christina C. Williams, November 13, 2023 Astrophysics Journal Letter.
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/acfe07
In addition to Penn State, the team includes the University of Texas at Austin, Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, yale universityUniversity of Pittsburgh, Sorbonne University in France, University of Copenhagen in Denmark, University of Geneva in Switzerland, University of Massachusetts, University of Groningen in the Netherlands, princeton universityWaseda University, Tufts University, and the National Institute for Optical and Infrared Astronomy Research (NOIR) in Japan.
This research was supported by NASA, the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology, the French National Center for Space Research, the French National Institute for Geosciences and Astronomy, the Corporation for Scientific Advancement, the Netherlands Research Council, and the European Commission. and the CO-FUND Rosalind Franklin Program of the University of Groningen, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and the NOIR Lab.