JWST unveils a cosmic jellyfish, offering clues to how galaxies evolved in the early universe
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers captured ESO 137-001, a jellyfish galaxy in the COSMOS field, showing trailing gas filaments stripped by ram pressure as it moves through a cluster. The image reveals blue, star-forming knots in the tails and places the system at about 8.5 billion years ago (roughly 5.3 billion years after the Big Bang), suggesting harsh cluster environments were already shaping galaxies earlier than thought; researchers plan further JWST studies to deepen understanding of galactic evolution.