Abu Dhabi: Astronomers announced that they were able to observe the earliest galaxy ever seen – MoM-z14, which was discovered as part of the Mirage or Miracle study. Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists were able to confirm that the light they captured was emitted just 280 million years after the Big Bang. For context, the Big Bang is thought to have occurred 13.8 billion years ago.
According to Emirates News Agency, the JWST is Earth’s most advanced infrared space telescope capable of capturing images of some of the most distant galaxies. These galaxies experience severe redshifts – a phenomenon where the wavelength of light is stretched because of distance, shifting it towards the red part of the colour spectrum.
Patterns seen in MoM-z14 are also common among the most ancient stars born in the Milky Way. Researchers suggest that they were witnessing the formation of similar stars in dense clusters. Using various methods, scientists determined that the galaxy is an extremely compact star-forming galaxy and could rank among the most nitrogen-enhanced sources discovered with the JWST yet.
Since its launch in late 2021, the JWST has provided humanity with information from the deepest depths of the universe.
