The James Webb Space Telescope continues to amaze us.
Of the main advantages James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is your ability to delve into the past. By looking at the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, he can see light that took billions of years to reach us, stretched by the action of Expanding the universe throughout your journey.
JWST experts’ eyes on the universe recently revealed another surprise – many galaxies that look like our own. Milky WayBut from 8 to 11 billion years in the past, when the universe was much younger.
New research described in a Statement Utah Austin (Opens in a new tab) View notes from JWST Cosmic evolution is the first published scientific research (Opens in a new tab) Column galaxies, straight lines of stars running from the centers of galaxies to their outer disks, are now visible in the young universe. According to the statement, this discovery may “require scientists to improve their theories about the evolution of galaxies.”
Related: 12 incredible discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope for 2022
“I took one look at this data and said, ‘We ignore everything else!'” University of Austin astronomer Sharda Jogi said in the release. “”.
This is the first time that stellar bars have been observed in such young galaxies, challenging current models of how galaxies form and grow. They can also help astronomers answer questions about galaxies, such as how massive they are. black holes They grow in the centers of galaxies and how galaxies get enough material to form stars in their centers, known as the supply chain problem.
“For this study, we are looking at a new system where no one has used this type of data or conducted this type of quantitative analysis before,” added lead author Yuxin Guo. “So everything is new. It’s like entering a forest no one has been in before.”
Jogee added that these stellar bars could “solve the galactic supply chain problem.”
“Just as we need to bring raw materials from the port to the factories in the interior that make new products, a rod ferociously ferries gas into the central region, where the gas is rapidly converted into new stars 10 to 100 times faster than normal in the rest of the galaxy,” he said. Jogee explained.
The discovery is further evidence of the extraordinary capabilities of NASA’s new space telescope and a step toward understanding how galaxies like our own Milky Way came to be.
Research published in Letters from The Astrophysical Journal (Opens in a new tab).
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