Huge Galaxy Protocluster in Early-Universe Discovered | James Webb Space Telescope
Protocluster Confirmed, 650 Million Years after the Big Bang
How did we get here? This fundamental question may be applied on its grandest scale in cosmology, which investigates the history and origin of the universe. Astronomers are able to investigate the early universe and its development like never before with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, including the first galaxies. For the first time, a protocluster of seven galaxies has been confirmed at a distance that astronomers refer to as redshift 7.9, or a mere 650 million years after the big bang. Based on the data collected, astronomers calculated the nascent cluster’s future development, finding that it will likely grow in size and mass to resemble the Coma Cluster, a monster of the modern universe.
Object Name: Pandora's Cluster, Abell 2744
Image Description: Wide view of many galaxies colored orange, red and white. Most white galaxies have a hazy halo. A grouping of larger white galaxies appears below center. In the top half of the image, five small white squares highlight galaxies that would not stand out otherwise, with lines radiating from the small squares to a stacked column of five squares along the entire right side of the image, providing a zoomed-in view of specific galaxies, all appearing red.
Galaxy clusters are the greatest concentrations of mass in the known universe, which can dramatically warp the fabric of spacetime itself. This warping, called gravitational lensing, can have a magnifying effect for objects beyond the cluster, allowing astronomers to look through the cluster like a giant magnifying glass. The research team was able to utilize this effect, looking through Pandora’s Cluster to view the protocluster; even Webb’s powerful instruments need an assist from nature to see so far.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Takahiro Morishita/Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)
Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
Release Date: April 24, 2023
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