Tag

James Webb Space Telescope

All articles tagged with #james webb space telescope

astronomy1 day ago•7 min saved

JWST Discovers Hidden Galactic Cores as Cosmic Organic Molecule Factories

JWST spectroscopic data of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy IRAS 07251-0248 reveal a rich mix of small organic molecules (benzene, methane, acetylene, diacetylene, triacetylene) and solid carbon-rich grains in its buried nucleus, along with the first outside-the Milky Way detection of the methyl radical CH3. The chemistry appears driven by cosmic rays fragmenting carbonaceous materials and PAHs, producing a diverse organic inventory far exceeding models’ predictions. This implies deeply obscured galactic nuclei can act as factories of organic molecules, with potential implications for prebiotic chemistry and galactic chemical evolution. Findings published in Nature Astronomy showcase JWST’s power to probe extreme, dust-shrouded environments.

via SciTechDaily|

#astrochemistry #astronomy #cosmic-rays

astronomy3 days ago•53 min saved

JWST maps brain-like nebula PMR 1 in a dying star’s last act

The James Webb Space Telescope provides high‑resolution infrared views of PMR 1, the Exposed Cranium Nebula about 5,000 light‑years away in Vela. Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI imaging reveal a brain‑like structure of inner gases surrounded by a thinner hydrogen shell, with a split that may be caused by polar jets from the dying star. The central star’s nature remains uncertain: it was once considered a Wolf–Rayet type, but this is not confirmed, leaving PMR 1’s true identity—possibly a planetary nebula around a sun‑like star or a Wolf–Rayet remnant—open to interpretation.

via Space|

#astronomy #exposed-cranium-nebula #james-webb-space-telescope

space4 days ago•97 min saved

JWST maps Uranus’s auroras and tilted magnetosphere in unprecedented detail

JWST mapped Uranus's upper atmosphere during a ~15-hour rotation, revealing two bright auroral belts around the planet's magnetic poles and a mid-latitude depletion region, along with a three-dimensional view of ion temperature and density up to about 5,000 km above the cloud tops. The data show Uranus’s highly tilted magnetosphere drives distinctive auroral patterns and that the atmosphere has cooled since the 1990s, offering clues about ice giants and exoplanet atmospheres.

via Live Science|

#atmosphere #auroras #james-webb-space-telescope

astronomy8 days ago•52 min saved

Early Universe’s Metal-Rich Dusty Galaxies Unearthed by JWST and ALMA

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have identified 70 dusty, star-forming galaxies at the edge of the observable universe, seen less than 1 billion years after the Big Bang. From an initial set of around 400 bright galaxies, JWST follow-up confirmed these candidates as metal-rich, suggesting that heavy-element production and star formation began earlier than current models predict, potentially reshaping our understanding of cosmic evolution and linking these galaxies to both ultrabright early systems and older, quiescent populations.

via Space|

#alma #astronomy #dusty-galaxies

astronomy9 days ago•55 min saved

Cosmic predators: active black holes suppress star formation in neighboring galaxies

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope found that one of the universe’s brightest quasars appears to quench star formation not only in its host galaxy but also in neighboring galaxies within about a million light-years. The study of quasar J0100+2802 showed reduced ionized oxygen in nearby galaxies, indicating suppressed star birth likely caused by intense radiation and outflows from the active supermassive black hole, suggesting a galactic “ecosystem” where massive black holes influence galaxy evolution beyond their own hosts, especially in the early universe.

via Space|

#astronomy #black-holes #galaxy-evolution

astronomy11 days ago•53 min saved

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.

via Space|

#astronomy #eso-137-001 #galaxy-evolution

space13 days ago•35 min saved

James Webb and Chandra Reveal Likely Most Distant Protocluster, Challenging Cosmology

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory have captured the clearest image yet of a galaxy protocluster, JADES‑ID1, located about 12.7 billion light‑years away. The structure hosts at least 66 galaxies with a combined mass of roughly 20 trillion suns, embedded in a huge cloud of hot gas detected in X‑rays. Formed when the universe was about 1 billion years old, this protocluster appears more massive and earlier than current cosmological models predict, sparking questions about how such enormous structures grow in the early universe.

via Yahoo|

#chandra-x-ray-observatory #early-universe #jades-id1

space15 days ago•2 min saved

Ancient Protocluster Defies Early-Universe Timing

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory identified JADES-ID1 as a protocluster with at least 66 galaxies and enveloped in million-degree gas, already amassing about 20 trillion solar masses just one billion years after the Big Bang—far earlier than models predict and prompting questions about how the universe’s largest structures form.

via Universe Today|

#chandra-x-ray-observatory #early-universe #galaxy-cluster

space15 days ago•68 min saved

Webb spots runaway black holes carving stellar contrails across galaxies

James Webb Space Telescope observations provide strong evidence for runaway black holes being kicked through galaxies by gravitational-wave recoil, leaving long wakes of star formation (contrails) in their path. Webb images show supermassive black holes of millions of solar masses traveling at hundreds to roughly a thousand kilometers per second, producing straight trails that can extend tens to hundreds of thousands of light-years. The phenomenon fits with theories of rotating black holes releasing spin energy and with gravitational-wave mergers, and while such runaways could theoretically traverse between galaxies, their occurrence in our region would be exceedingly rare. The discovery adds a striking new chapter to our understanding of the universe.

via Live Science|

#contrails #galaxies #gravitational-waves

astronomy21 days ago•5 min saved

JWST Detects Rich Organic Chemistry in a Distant Galaxy

The James Webb Space Telescope unveils a surprisingly rich set of organic molecules in IRAS 07251–0248, an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy about 10+ billion light-years away. Detected molecules include methane, acetylene, benzene, and the methyl radical, indicating a complex chemical network far exceeding current models and potentially driven by cosmic rays that fragment larger carbon-rich grains into smaller organics. This suggests distant galactic nuclei can be ongoing sources of carbon for prebiotic chemistry, offering new insights into the origins of life and showcasing JWST’s power to study chemical evolution in the early universe.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#astrobiology #astronomy #cosmic-rays

astronomy22 days ago•49 min saved

JWST uncovers potential life's chemical ingredients in a dusty galaxy

Using the James Webb Space Telescope to study the dusty heart of ultra-luminous galaxy IRAS 07251-0248, scientists detected a rich chemistry of small organic molecules (like benzene, methane, acetylene, diacetylene, triacetylene, and methyl radicals) and carbon-based dust with water ice. The abundances exceed current models, implying a persistent carbon source and possible cosmic-ray processing that releases these organics, which could act as precursors to more complex biomolecules and life, offering a window into space-based prebiotic chemistry and the galaxy’s role in forming life's building blocks.

via Space|

#astronomy #building-blocks-of-life #iras-07251-0248

physics-and-mathematics23 days ago•82 min saved

Webb Telescope Maps Cosmos's Invisible Skeleton in Unprecedented Detail

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope produced the most detailed map of dark matter yet, revealing how its gravity shapes ordinary matter in a patch of the Sextans constellation and uncovering about 800,000 galaxies; the findings, published in Nature Astronomy from 255 hours of JWST observations, demonstrate dark matter as the universe's scaffolding and hint at how cosmic structure formed, with plans to expand mapping using NASA's Roman Space Telescope.

via Live Science|

#astronomy #cosmology #dark-matter

space24 days ago•79 min saved

Webb maps the universe’s dark matter across 800,000 galaxies

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers built a detailed map of dark matter by analyzing subtle light distortions (weak gravitational lensing) from roughly 800,000 background galaxies in the COSMOS field. The 255-hour NIRCam observations, with MIRI distance measurements and prior Hubble data, yield the most galaxy-dense dark‑matter map to date—about ten times more galaxies than ground-based surveys and twice as many as the Hubble map—providing new insights into how dark matter shapes galaxy growth and the cosmic web.

via Space|

#cosmos-survey #dark-matter #galaxy-evolution

science24 days ago•43 min saved

Webb Telescope Pinpoints a Dawn-Drenched Galaxy Near the Big Bang

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope confirmed the bright galaxy MoM-z14 existed about 280 million years after the Big Bang (redshift 14.44), pushing the observable frontier of the universe farther back than expected and suggesting early galaxies were more luminous than models predicted. The finding sheds light on the reionization era and nitrogen enrichment in the first galaxies, with Webb’s results hinting at a richer early universe than theorized and paving the way for thousands of similar discoveries with future missions like the Roman Space Telescope.

via Good News Network|

#early-universe #james-webb-space-telescope #nasa

space25 days ago•78 min saved

JWST spots the universe’s most distant galaxy MoM-z14, challenging early-universe predictions

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has detected MoM-z14, the farthest galaxy observed to date, about 13.5 billion years back (roughly 280 million years after the Big Bang). The galaxy is brighter, more compact, and chemically enriched than expected for such an early epoch, challenging existing models of early star and galaxy formation and suggesting the early universe may have evolved more rapidly than theories predicted.

via Space|

#cosmic-dawn #early-universe #high-redshift-galaxy