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Using the most powerful space telescope ever built, astronomers spotted a galaxy that existed 13.4 billion years ago.
This updated image, courtesy of the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, shows a Webb Space Telescope image of the oldest galaxy ever observed at nearly 100 million years ago, called GLASS-z13. Handout photo / University of Copenhagen / AFP
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The James Webb Space Telescope has made history again with its latest observation: the oldest and most distant galaxy ever discovered.
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Scientists found a galaxy, known as GLASS-z13, that existed 13.4 billion years ago. It dates back to 300 million years after the Big Bang, nearly 100 million years earlier than anything previously identified, according to Rohan Naidu of the Harvard Center for Astrophysics.
“We’re looking at potentially the most distant starlight that anyone has ever seen,” he said.
The exact age of GLASS-z13 remains unknown, as it could have formed anytime within the first 300 million years.
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The Canadian Space Agency, NASA and ESA present the first images of the cosmos from the Webb Telescope
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See the first image of the early universe from NASA’s James Webb Telescope
The galaxy was spotted in so-called “early release” data from the orbiting observatory’s main infrared imager, called NIRcam, but the discovery was not revealed in the first set of images released by NASA last week .
Naidu, along with 24 other astronomers, have submitted their findings to a scientific journal. Although the data has not yet been peer-reviewed, NASA Chief Scientist Thomas Zurbuchen said the findings look promising.
“Yeah, I usually only encourage once the science is clear peer review. But this looks very promising!’
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🚨 JWST has potentially broken records, discovering a galaxy that existed when the universe was only 300 million years old! The light from GLASS-z13 took 13.4 billion years to hit us, but the distance between us is now 33 billion light years due to the expansion of the universe! pic.twitter.com/5AcOBwHuO1
— Dr. James O’Donoghue (@physicsJ) July 20, 2022
The Hubble Space Telescope held the previous galaxy discovery record in 2016. It discovered GN-Z11, located in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, the light from which the galaxy was emitted 13.4 billion years ago, approximately 400 million years after the Big Bang.
He also held the record for catching the most distant star ever recorded. Called Earendel, its light took 12.9 billion years to reach Hubble.
With Webb in full operation since last week, astronomers are confident it will usher in a new era of discovery.
“There are few times in history when we humans look at nature in an entirely new way, and @NASAWebb has already begun writing the next chapter of our cosmic story with its new images,” Zurbuchen tweeted.
The galaxy dates back to just 300 million years after the Big Bang. Handout photo / University of Copenhagen / AFP