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

top 38 comments
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[–] Drunemeton@lemmy.world 79 points 2 months ago (3 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.

[–] Kernal64@sh.itjust.works 19 points 2 months ago (2 children)

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

[–] Drunemeton@lemmy.world 4 points 2 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

[–] dave@feddit.uk 6 points 2 months ago

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

[–] remotelove@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 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.

[–] aStonedSanta@lemm.ee -1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] cows_are_underrated@feddit.org 0 points 2 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.

[–] aStonedSanta@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

What’s your solution then?

[–] cows_are_underrated@feddit.org 0 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 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.

[–] aStonedSanta@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago

So your answer is. Education. Got it.

[–] MonkderDritte@feddit.de 1 points 2 months ago

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

[–] Fades@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

142.3 billion light years 🤯

[–] JimSamtanko@lemm.ee 59 points 2 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.

[–] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 10 points 2 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@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

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

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 6 points 2 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@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

wait is this statistically correct?

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 3 points 2 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@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

okay that's insane

[–] Fades@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

The fuck does headlines even mean? Which media outlets are you talking about?

I’ve seen JWST-related news consistently since its debut and not just from science/space-focused media but here you are saying America never talks about it?

Here’s one just 3 days ago https://www.newsweek.com/supermassive-black-hole-larger-early-universe-1916653

CBS has a running tag for JWST with many articles: https://www.cbsnews.com/tag/james-webb-space-telescope/

USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/search/?q=James+Webb+space+telescope+

And many more, the New Yorker, ny times, the guardian, I could go on and on. They all post JWST consistently for YEARS now.

Speaking of the guardian, they posted about this exact discovery A MONTH AGO: https://amp.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/may/31/james-webb-space-telescope-photographs-most-distant-known-galaxy

Unexpected brightness of JADES-GS-z14-0 means telescope could capture images of galaxies even further away

Most of these examples I’m giving are common outlets that I don’t actually follow but many do. It’s not some niche content you must seek to find.

I don’t see it therefore it must not happen

this you?

[–] Fades@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

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

[–] Etterra@lemmy.world 2 points 2 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@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago
[–] Fades@lemmy.world -3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The fuck are you crying about? I’ve seen JWST-related news consistently since its debut and not just from science/space-focused media but here you are saying America never talks about it?

Here’s one just 3 days ago https://www.newsweek.com/supermassive-black-hole-larger-early-universe-1916653

CBS has a running tag for JWST with many articles: https://www.cbsnews.com/tag/james-webb-space-telescope/

USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/search/?q=James+Webb+space+telescope+

And many more, the New Yorker, ny times, the guardian, I could go on and on. They all post JWST consistently for YEARS now.

Speaking of the guardian, they posted about this exact discovery A MONTH AGO: https://amp.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/may/31/james-webb-space-telescope-photographs-most-distant-known-galaxy

Unexpected brightness of JADES-GS-z14-0 means telescope could capture images of galaxies even further away

Most of these examples I’m giving are common outlets that I don’t actually follow but many do. It’s not some niche content you must seek to find.

[–] JimSamtanko@lemm.ee 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Wow… no need for the hostility. It seems you completely missed my point entirely. Like… ENTIRELY.

What I meant was:

It’s a shame random people on the internet don’t consider this to be big news. Post like this get few comments and discussions, or bullshit negativity is incredibly popular and net tons of discussions.

So imagine if PEOPLE- not websites found this interesting.

Hope this clears things up and in the future, maybe try not an be so hostile about things you might not understand properly.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 24 points 2 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.”

[–] 4am@lemm.ee 15 points 2 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?

[–] MonkderDritte@feddit.de 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 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@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

New theories suggest the second one.

[–] anonymous111@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

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

[–] Aolley@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

PBS Space Time is pretty great

[–] atx_aquarian@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

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".

[–] _sideffect@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

That looks like an alien vessel

[–] EtherWhack@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)
[–] _sideffect@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago

I know 😁

[–] paddirn@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] _sideffect@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago