JADES team discovered the oldest known galaxy in the Universe — JADES-GS-z14–0
Ever since the James Webb Space Telescope was launched, it has been telling us a lot about the universe. Similarly, it has discovered a galaxy that was formed 290 million years after the Big Bang and it is the oldest and farthest galaxy discovered till date. Earlier we had talked about JADES-GS-z7–01-QU & JADES-GS-z13–0 galaxy, which was the oldest galaxy at that time, but JADES-GS-z14–0 has broken all the records.
The JADES Team: Peering into the Distant Past
JADES is an international team of astronomers leveraging the JWST’s immense power to study the early universe. By observing faint objects at extreme distances, they effectively look back in time, piecing together the cosmos’s story. Their recent discovery of JADES-GS-z14–0 pushes the frontier of our knowledge even further.
JADES-GS-z14–0: A Galaxy Born in Infancy
JADES-GS-z14–0 is estimated to have formed a mere 290 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only 2% of its current age. This makes it the most distant and earliest galaxy ever detected. The light we see from JADES-GS-z14–0 has been traveling for a staggering 13.5 billion years to reach us!
An Unexpectedly Luminous Giant
Despite its extreme age, JADES-GS-z14–0 is surprisingly bright and massive, containing the equivalent of roughly 500 million solar masses. It’s also surprisingly large, stretching across approximately 1,600 light-years. This challenges our existing models of galaxy formation in the early universe, which predicted much smaller and fainter objects at this point in time.
Composition and Formation: Unveiling the Mystery
The exact composition of JADES-GS-z14–0 remains under investigation. However, observations suggest it’s actively forming stars at a breakneck pace, creating roughly 20 new stars per year — a rate much higher than observed in mature galaxies. Scientists believe it might be fueled by pristine gas rich in hydrogen, a hallmark of the young universe.
Beyond JADES-GS-z14–0: A Universe Rich with Potential
JADES-GS-z14–0 is just one piece of the puzzle. The JADES program is continuing its survey, searching for more galaxies from the cosmic dawn. With each discovery, we gain a deeper understanding of the universe’s first billion years, a period shrouded in mystery.
