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Astronomers have cracked the cosmic code to seeing the Universe’s distant past.
The viewing area of the JADES survey, along with the four most distant galaxies verified within this field-of-view. The three galaxies at z = 13.20, 12.63, and 11.58 are all more distant than the previous record-holder, GN-z11, which had been identified by Hubble and has now been spectroscopically confirmed by JWST to be at a redshift of z = 10.6. No doubt these records will themselves be broken, possibly with galaxy candidates that already exist within the same field-of-view. (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), Leah Hustak (STScI); Science credits: Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), S. Tacchella (Cambridge), E. Curtis-Lake (UOH), S. Carniani (Scuola Normale Superiore), JADES Collaboration)
Simply take your largest, most powerful space-based observatory,
The JWST, now fully operational, has seven times the light-gathering power of Hubble, but will be able to see much farther into the infrared portion of the spectrum, revealing those galaxies existing even earlier than what Hubble could ever see, owing to its longer-wavelength capabilities and much lower operating temperatures. Galaxy populations seen prior to the epoch of reionization should abundantly be discovered, and Hubble’s old cosmic distance record has already been broken. (Credit: NASA/JWST Science Team; composite by E. Siegel)
point it at the same region of sky for a long time,
This image shows the region of study of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES). This area includes and contains the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field and reveals new galaxies at record-breaking distances that Hubble could not see. The colors on JWST images are not “true color” but rather are assigned based on a variety of choices. This image, released in December of 2022, has since been augmented by follow-on observations within the same region of space. (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb); Science credits: Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), S. Tacchella (Cambridge), E. Curtis-Lake (UOH), S. Carniani (Scuola Normale Superiore), JADES Collaboration)
and observe it over a wide range of infrared wavelengths.
Preliminary total system throughput for each NIRCam filter, including contributions from the JWST Optical Telescope Element (OTE), NIRCam optical train, dichroics, filters, and detector quantum efficiency (QE). Throughput refers to photon-to-electron conversion efficiency. By using a series of JWST filters extending to much longer wavelengths than Hubble’s limit (between 1.6 and 2.0 microns), JWST can reveal details that are completely invisible to Hubble. (Credit: NASA/JWST NIRCam instrument team)
As the expanding Universe stretches starlight to longer wavelengths, infrared observing is key.
When light is emitted from a source, it has a particular wavelength. The longer it must travel through the expanding Universe before being absorbed by an observer, the greater the amount that the wavelength of that light will be redshifted, or stretched to longer values, compared to the wavelength it has when it was emitted. (Credit: Ben Gibson/Big Think)
Even with light-blocking neutral atoms in the way, those long wavelengths will reveal ultra-distant galaxies.
Schematic diagram of the Universe’s history, highlighting reionization. Before stars or galaxies formed, the Universe was full of light-blocking, neutral atoms that formed back when the Universe was ~380,000 years old. Most of the Universe doesn’t become reionized until 550 million years afterward, with some regions achieving full reionization earlier and others later. The first major waves of reionization begin happening at around ~200 million years of age, while a few fortunate stars may form just 50-to-100 million years after the Big Bang. With the right tools, like the JWST, we are beginning to reveal more distant galaxies than any other tool had made possible previously. (Credit: S. G. Djorgovski et al., Caltech; Caltech Digital Media Center)
A portion of a JWST deep-field image, shown with the Hubble observations as its counterpart. Within the JWST field are a significant number of objects not seen by Hubble, showcasing JWST’s ability to reveal what Hubble could not, thanks predominantly to its longer-wavelength capabilities. (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Christina Williams (NSF’s NOIRLab), Sandro Tacchella (Cambridge), Michael Maseda (UW-Madison); Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI); Animation: E. Siegel)
But to go even deeper still, more observing time of the same region is necessary.
This portion of the JADES view of the sky, taken with JWST, showcases large, nearby galaxies, more distant galaxies of many varieties, and a distant dense group/cluster of galaxies, all seen together in the same field of view. The occasional star can be spotted: within the Milky Way, and identifiable by its diffraction spike pattern. (Credit: JADES Collaboration)
This image shows the first (yellow outline) and second (green outline) data releases from the JADES collaboration. All told, up to 9 NIRCam filters, many NIRSpec supporting observations, and additional coverage in three separate filters (brown area) are also included. The JADES view of the sky, which overlaps with Hubble’s GOODS data, will make up our deepest-ever view of the distant Universe to date when complete. (Credit: JADES Collaboration)
This illustration shows the different types of images that can be obtained with each of JWST’s instruments and observing modes, and highlights the total viewing area and other specifications inherent in each instrument. Note the disconnected field-of-view of NIRCam, and how NIRSpec observes a different region of space when NIRCam is targeted on a specific region. (Credit: JWST User Documentation)
The JADES observing areas, undertaken by JWST, include a total area of the sky of 125 square arc-minutes, and include both the Hubble Ultra/eXtreme Deep Fields (left) and the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field image (right). Of the most distant objects of all in this region, 93% were uniquely observed by JWST; only 7% of them were also seen by Hubble. All told, JADES will spend 770 hours observing their target region with NIRCam and NIRSpec. This image, from JADES data release 1, will be updated to include new data in light of the latest data release. (Credit: Kevin Hainline for the JADES Collaboration, AAS242)
This incredible view of the distant Universe is revealed in spectacular detail with the second data release from the JADES Collaboration. Using data primarily from NIRCam but augmented spectroscopically by NIRSpec, stars and galaxies near and far, as well as some of the most distant cosmic objects of all, are all revealed alongside one another. (Credit: JADES Collaboration)
At the center of this image, a very faint brown dwarf star, that emits no visible light but copious amounts of long-wavelength infrared light, is highlighted. Over toward the lower left of the image, a group of galaxies appears far in the distant background. (Credit: JADES Collaboration/Kevin Hainline)
Another brown dwarf, with spikes around it, appears with what seem like many other sources of light stacked upon it. In reality, these more distant light sources have nothing to do with the brown dwarf, but are simply background objects that happen to appear along the same line of sight. (Credit: JADES Collaboration/Julian H. Girard)
Spectroscopy reveals oxygen gas in a galaxy from 11.5 billion years ago.
By overlaying the (visual) NIRCam data with NIRSpec data (all data is available for download), the spectrum of many objects can be seen. Here, a distant galaxy whose light comes to us from 11.5 billion years ago reveals the telltale signature of oxygen gas. (Credit: JADES Collaboration/Kevin Hainline)
At the upper left, the grainy region displays a sample from the JADES Medium region, released earlier this year, with the JADES Origins Field at lower right. The difference in depth, resolution, and background noise is substantial, and can be seen with a mere visual inspection. (Credit: JADES Collaboration/Kevin Hainline)
In some regions of the JADES field, a large number of bright, luminous, and even colorful galaxies can be seen all grouped together. In other regions, the galactic density is much sparser, showcasing the rich diversity in clustering that the Universe gives us to explore. (Credit: JADES Collaboration)
