Forming Galaxies in the Early Universe

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:

·       Illustration of forming galaxy: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI).

·       Animation of Stellar Nucleosynthesis: Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF).

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Photos of planets, galaxies and nebulas scroll up the screen. Text: NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSE 

 

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A drawing of a young galaxy. Lots of light blue gas floats around a bright white center. Bright stars of different sizes shine in the blue dust. Text, June 6, 2024. Forming Galaxies in the Early Universe. 

 

Text: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected three galaxies in the early universe surrounded by large amounts of dense gas. 

 

The large reservoirs of gas suggest that the galaxies have not had enough time to form most of their stars, as the universe was only 400 - 600 million years old. 

 

Detailed discoveries like this, so far away in space and time, were not possible before Webb. 

 

Gas will eventually fall into the galaxies to form stars and, over billions of years, lead to highly structured, star-filled galaxies. 

 

Animation, hydrogen, helium, carbon, neon, oxygen, silicon in a star. 

 

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Stars create most of the chemical elements that make up the universe, other than hydrogen and helium, which were created in the big bang. 

 

Webb will continue studying the chemical content of these and other early galaxies to learn how our complex universe began to develop. 

 

The young galaxy with its blue gas and bright stars. 

 

This news was brought to you in part by the SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND