this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2024
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Summ:

  • The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered the most distant galaxy ever confirmed, named JADES-GS-z14-0, which appears as it existed just 290 million years after the Big Bang.

  • The discovery of this surprisingly luminous and massive early galaxy challenges theories about how galaxies formed in the cosmic dawn

  • JWST has been repeatedly breaking its own records for the most distant galaxies since beginning operations in 2022

more about:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjeenyw8rd2o

https://webbtelescope.org/contents/early-highlights/nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-finds-most-distant-known-galaxy

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[–] Drunemeton 94 points 5 months ago (4 children)

“A redshift of one corresponds to a distance of more than 10 billion light-years. JWST’s studies showed that JADES-GS-z14-0 has a redshift of 14.32, the highest ever recorded.”

Wow!

“Usually gases like oxygen show up only after large groups of stars have lived their lives and died in supernova explosions,” Hainline says. “So seeing oxygen in a galaxy this young is like if you are an anthropologist and you find an enormous, ancient city that has evidence of iPhones.”

That just boggles the mind!

Can’t wait to get more data on this wee, spry, bizarre find.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 5 months ago (2 children)

It is an entire, whole ass galaxy. I do not think it fits any definition of wee.

[–] Drunemeton 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ha ha ha!

Well…

We both saw the photo in the article. It’s a big photo, and they had to enlarge the teeny tiny spot this galaxy was in, then blow it up and actually add an arrow to point it out.

Seems pretty wee to me!

pikachupokerface.webp

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

Ok Dougal, one last time. Small… Far away…

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Size is relative and our perception of time (and the way we measure it) requires us to use numbers so large, most people can't really visualize at the scales we are talking about.

Off the top of your head, can you visualize how much space 10 billion apples would take up? Sure, you could calculate it, but it's likely not something you could instantly visualize in your head.

Honestly, I don't know how to solve for that problem.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

More education tbh. Don’t see any other solution.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Being able to visualize how much space something needs only comes with experience, so as long ad you don't want students to work with 10b apple on a regular basis, education isn't really able to change this.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

What’s your solution then?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

As I said. The only way to be able to visualize extreme numbers of anything is, to work with extreme numbers of it, but this isn't a viable solution for everything.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

So your answer is. Education. Got it.

[–] Confused_Emus 1 points 5 months ago

If you enjoy the topic, my favorite astrophysicist, Dr. Becky, covered this discovery in her latest video!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Why? Earlier galaxies had often bigger stars and supergiants & co. don't live long but fuse to oxygen too, no?

[–] Fades 1 points 5 months ago

142.3 billion light years 🤯

[–] [email protected] 74 points 5 months ago (3 children)

It’s a shame that things like this don’t make national headlines. I sometimes daydream about how cool it would be if we were all collectively interested in these things.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (2 children)

This was in the national news like a week ago in the Nerherlands. I remember coming across an article about it.

[–] Crowfiend 12 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Over here in 'murica, the only news that makes headlines is about either Biden, Trump, Musk, or mass shootings. 🙄

[–] Treczoks 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Not even that. With about two mass shootings per day on average, most mass shootings don't make the news.

[–] olutukko 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

wait is this statistically correct?

[–] Treczoks 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

A "mass shooting" has four or more people being hit, which happens about 800 times a year in the US. And about once a year in other western countries, if at all.

[–] olutukko 5 points 5 months ago

okay that's insane

[–] Fades 6 points 5 months ago

Same here in the USA, this discovery is at least a month old.

[–] Etterra 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The only way you're going to get the majority of Americans to pay attention to this is if you tell them that the Galaxy just got an abortion.

[–] olutukko 3 points 5 months ago
[–] homesweethomeMrL 25 points 5 months ago

Some theories might allude that such brightness comes from a burgeoning supermassive black hole feasting on gas at the center of JADES-GS-z14-0. But in that case, light is usually concentrated into a much smaller region.

Instead the best explanation Hainline and colleagues have found is that this exceedingly young galaxy has somehow already manufactured about a half billion stars.

. . . How could a galaxy so young have already sparked so many stellar generations? “Usually gases like oxygen show up only after large groups of stars have lived their lives and died in supernova explosions,” Hainline says. “So seeing oxygen in a galaxy this young is like if you are an anthropologist and you find an enormous, ancient city that has evidence of iPhones.”

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago

There was some talk recently that perhaps the universe is as a much as twice as old as we suspected, which could account for (some?) aspects of it we try to explain with dark matter. I wonder if this discovery lends any weight to that?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Wait, if that galaxy didn't form at the exact same point where the big bang happened (we wouldn't see it then), then it is likely older. Or the universe is older.

[–] ekZepp 10 points 5 months ago

New theories suggest the second one.

[–] anonymous111 8 points 5 months ago (5 children)

Does anyone have any good YouTube channels for these type of space discoveries?

[–] Aolley 10 points 5 months ago (1 children)

PBS Space Time is pretty great

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

It's great but not really what they asked for. They don't really cover new things in that way, they go in depth about specific things with the most recent knowledge, not new discoveries like this post is about.

[–] MataVatnik 9 points 5 months ago

I really like Anton Petrov, he reviews individual papers as they are published. Not sure if he covered this one.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCciQ8wFcVoIIMi-lfu8-cjQ

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Just want to highlight this channel, it's a great resource and his group does a free weekly newsletter you can sign up for as well as the video version on his channel. He covers users questions on live streams a lot of times and goes in-depth with interviews and space topics covering just about everything.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Good suggestions but none of them beats Anton Petrov IMO:

https://youtube.com/@whatdamath

[–] atx_aquarian 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

But JADES-GS-z14-0 has properties that are vastly different from its slightly ~~older~~ younger counterpart

ftfy... at least, I think that's what they meant.

edit: After discussion, I think I see that I might be a candidate for "people incorrectly correcting others".

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Huh... that made my brain do a few twists. The reference point for distance would be our own galaxy (I assume). So you would think that the furthest one would be the "oldest" due to expansion of the universe... so I would think that you're correct in your correction?

Unless they meant "older" in the sense of "discovered earlier"? I have no idea anymore, I guess they could argue it either way

Edit: After re-reading it, I think they're just referring "Younger" and "Older" to how the galaxies appear to us (due to the time it takes light to travel). As in, the newest discovery is "younger" because that's the age that we can observe it as, by the time the light has reached us. Idk anymore, I know nothing lol

[–] atx_aquarian 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Oh, ok, now I think I'm following. So, like, maybe the one whose light is older (since it's farther away) could be in a less-developed state, like seeing an older photo of a baby.

The universe breaks my brain, too. I love it!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Nah, you broke my brain a bit too lol. I had to re-read carefully to try and follow... and I still wasn't sure by the end

[–] _sideffect 1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

That looks like an alien vessel

[–] EtherWhack 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)
[–] _sideffect 1 points 5 months ago

I know 😁

[–] paddirn 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Pretty sure it's alien dyson spheres all the way down, that's the only logical explanation here.

[–] _sideffect 2 points 5 months ago