James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

Galaxy GS-NDG-9422 Spectrum (NIRSpec)

Is this the missing link? ?? Webb spotted an unusual early universe galaxy (1 billion years after the big bang) containing gas clouds that outshine its stars. Hotter and more massive stars than we see in the local universe may be heating its dust, making it shine brightly. Could this be a transition point for galaxies, from primordial to modern? Read more: science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/in-odd-galaxy-nasas-webb-f... This image: This is a supplementary image for this story, a comparison of the data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope with a computer model prediction highlights the same sloping feature that first caught the eye of astronomer Alex Cameron, lead researcher of a new study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. [View the imagery here: www.flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/54021078893/in/da...] The bottom graphic compares what astronomers would expect to see in a "typical" galaxy, with its light coming predominantly from stars (white line), with a theoretical model of light coming from hot nebular gas, outshining stars (yellow line). The model comes from Cameron’s collaborator, theoretical astronomer Harley Katz, and together they realized the similarities between the model and Cameron's Webb observations of galaxy GS-NDG-9422 (top). The unusual downturn of the galaxy's spectrum, leading to an exaggerated spike in neutral hydrogen, is nearly a perfect match to Katz’s model of a spectrum dominated by super-heated gas. While this is still only one example, Cameron, Katz, and their fellow researchers think the conclusion that galaxy GS-NDG-9422 is dominated by nebular light, rather than starlight, is their strongest jumping-off point for future investigation. They are looking for more galaxies around the same one-billion-year mark in the universe’s history, hoping to find more examples of a new type of galaxy, a missing link in the history of galactic evolution. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI) Image description: Infographic titled Galaxy GS-NDG-9422, Nebular light outshines starlight. Graphic is divided horizontally with one spectrum on top, labeled Webb Data, and one on bottom, labeled Model Spectrum. A portion of both spectrums about an inch wide is highlighted with a vertical column labeled Slope Feature. There is a clear similarity between the top and bottom graphs, thought the top has more angular lines and the bottom is smoother and rounded. See extended description for more. Image & Description by NASA