Astronomers discover ancient galaxies that should not have existed |  Science and the planet

Astronomers discover ancient galaxies that should not have existed | Science and the planet

The James Webb Space Telescope has it Explore galaxies which is roughly the size of our Milky Way galaxy. Nothing exceptional in and of itself, were it not for the fact that no one expected them in that place. In fact, they simply could not be there. No one can explain how they were formed. A mystery that causes headaches for many astronomers.

Half a dozen galaxies baffle scientists around the world. It’s the James Webb Space Telescope that captured them in a picture called “Deep Field.” It looks into the dim light of very distant stars and galaxies. The galaxies described in this new science study are so far away that they appear only as tiny red dots on the image of our most powerful space telescope ever. By studying this light, we can find out their age, for example.

This age seems to be a problem. According to the analyses, the light left the six galaxies when they were barely 500 to 700 million years old. The universe was still in its infancy at that time, just after the Big Bang. That galaxies already existed at that time is not surprising, but they were very advanced. The galaxies look so big and the stars so old. This is completely contrary to our current ideas about how the universe appeared and evolved in its early years. It is also inconsistent with previous observations made by Webb’s predecessor, Hubble.

The galaxies described in this new science study are so far away that they appear only as tiny red dots on the image of our most powerful space telescope ever. © NASA, ESA, CSA, I. Labbe (Swinburne University of Technology)

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“These objects are much larger than anyone expected,” Joel Lega, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, told me in a statement. press release. “We expected to find only young galaxies. Instead, we discovered mature galaxies like our own Milky Way. And that’s in the time period we consider the dawn of the universe.”

Scientists can tell by the color that these stars and galaxies were older than expected. Young stars usually shine bright blue. When they get older they get a red glow. James Webb simply wasn’t expected to see such red stars when looking back in time. Nor are galaxies so massive. It is roughly the size of our own galaxy at a time when the universe was only 3% of its current age.

“We’ve never been able to look away in time, so it’s important to be open to new discoveries,” Lega says. “The data indicates that they are most likely galaxies, but who knows, maybe some of these objects are hidden supermassive black holes. Anyway, with this discovery, we have learned that the mass of stars from this period is 100 times greater than previously thought. This amazing. “

Astronomers plan to refocus Webb's mirror on these six galaxies soon to obtain a spectrum of the light.  This allows them to immediately see if their hypotheses are correct.
Astronomers plan to refocus Webb’s mirror on these six galaxies soon to obtain a spectrum of the light. This allows them to immediately see if their hypotheses are correct. © via Reuters

So it’s time to rewrite cosmological theories about how galaxies formed after the Big Bang. Although first astronomers have to make sure the red dots aren’t really something else. But even if that were the case, one would have to come up with completely new concepts for these alternatives. Although it shouldn’t take long. Astronomers plan to refocus Webb’s mirror on these galaxies to get a spectrum of light soon. This allows them to immediately see if their hypotheses are correct. so interesting…. Because this first discovery may be the beginning of a shift in how we see the world around us.

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to explain. What does James Webb look like and what are they doing with him?


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