The James Webb Telescope has discovered the most distant galaxy known to date

The galaxy called JADES-GS-z14-0 existed about 290 million years after the Big Bang and has properties that have consequences for understanding the early universe, NASA said on Thursday. Light from the newly discovered galaxy took more than 13.5 billion years to reach Earth.

The Big Bang occurred 13.8 billion years ago. Co-discoverers Stefano Cargnani and Kevin Heinlein explained that JADES-GS-z14-0 is not the type of galaxy predicted by theoretical models and computer simulations for the early universe. They were “thrilled by the extraordinary diversity of galaxies that existed at the cosmic dawn.”

Journey to the past

In astronomy, looking into the distance also means traveling into the past. For example, sunlight takes eight minutes to reach Earth, so people see the sun as it was eight minutes ago. If you look very far, you can see things as they looked billions of years ago. The James Webb Telescope also detects infrared light that is invisible to the human eye.

According to NASA, the galaxy is “exceptionally bright for its distance.” It is estimated that its mass is several hundred million times the mass of the Sun. According to the researchers, this discovery raises the question “how could nature create such a bright, massive and large galaxy in less than 300 million years.”

1.5 million kilometers away

The high-tech observatory, built as part of the European Space Agency (ESA) with Austrian participation, was launched into space in December 2021 after decades of preparation. It is now more than one and a half million kilometers from Earth. Explores the early days of the universe.

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