The galaxy, named JADES-GS-z14-0, existed about 290 million years after the Big Bang and has peculiarities that have implications for understanding the early universe, US space agency NASA said Thursday. Light from the newly discovered galaxy took more than 13.5 billion years to reach Earth.
The Big Bang happened 13.8 billion years ago. JADES-GS-z14-0 is not the type of galaxy predicted by theoretical models and computer simulations for the early universe, explained Stefano Carniani and Kevin Heinlein, two researchers involved in the discovery. They were “enthralled by the extraordinary diversity of galaxies at cosmic dawn.”
A trip to the past
In astronomy, seeing distance means traveling into the past. For example, light from the Sun takes eight minutes to reach the Earth – so people see the Sun eight minutes earlier. If you look far enough, you can see things that are billions of years old. The James Webb telescope will also detect infrared light that is invisible to the human eye.
According to NASA, the galaxy is exceptionally bright for its distance. Its mass is estimated to be several hundred million times that of the Sun. According to the researchers, the discovery “raises the question of how nature could have produced such a bright, massive and massive galaxy within 300 million years”.
1.5 million kilometers away
The high-tech observatory, built as part of the European Space Agency (ESA) with Austrian participation, will be launched into space in December 2021 after decades. It is now one and a half million kilometers from Earth. It explores the early days of the universe.
