Distant galaxy samples near quasar J0100+2802 (NIRCam image)
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has returned extraordinarily detailed images and spectra of galaxies that existed when the Universe was only 900 million years old.
These galaxies look more chaotic than those in the nearby Universe – they are clumpy and often elongated. These galaxies are also younger and are actively forming stars. The stars Webb detected are all more massive, which may lead to an abundance of colourful supernovae shooting off in these galaxies.
A view of the larger field around quasar J0100+2802 can be found here.
These results were announced by members of the Emission-line galaxies and Intergalactic Gas in the Epoch of Reionization (EIGER) team. The team will eventually have images and data from six fields, each centred on a quasar, but Webb’s first image from NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and data known as spectra are so detailed that they could easily make definitive conclusions without waiting for additional observations.
[Image description: Six galaxies appear in boxes, three by two. All carry an EIGER label at top left. The galaxies look like faint smudges: faint paint brush strokes with dots, or small points of light. Most appear in pinks and reds, though a few contain some purple or blue.]
