With its gas shining brighter than its stars, a strange galaxy found one billion years after the big bang may represent a previously-unknown phase of galactic evolution.
Amid a crowded field of galaxies captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, one otherwise inconspicuous galaxy stands out for emitting a light signature that astronomers have never seen before. Together, an observational astronomer and a theorist investigated potential causes. They concluded that the strange spectrum of galaxy GS-NDG-9422 is likely coming from its super-heated gas, not its stars. This intriguing conclusion opens up several future paths for investigation, including the connection between this odd galaxy and the universe’s first generation of stars – also predicted to be outshone by nebular gas.
Find additional articles, images, and videos at WebbTelescope.org
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