Early-Universe Protocluster

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with NASA’s Universe of Learning partners: Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

 

Video imagery:

·       Hubble Ultra Deep Field flythrough visualization: NASA, ESA, STScI

·       Annotated Webb image of galaxy protocluster: NASA, ESA, CSA, Takahiro Morishita (IPAC)

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A white line moves across colorful images of space. 

 

Text, News From the Universe. 

 

May 1, 2023. Early-Universe Protocluster. 

 

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed the existence of a protocluster of seven galaxies forming only 650 million years after the big bang. 

 

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Webb was able to detect the protocluster galaxies thanks to a magnification boost from Pandora's Cluster, which lies in between. 

 

The mass of Pandora's Cluster is so great that it warps the fabric of space itself, producing a magnifying effect. 

 

Using data, astronomers estimated the protocluster's future development, finding that it could grow in size and mass to become a giant cluster, with thousands of member galaxies. 

 

This news was brought to you in part by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD.