Looking into deep space is like looking back in time. Due to the time it takes for light to travel across the universe, the objects we observe in space existed billions of years ago. Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) observed a galaxy that formed only 280 million years after the Big Bang.

This galaxy, designated MoM-z14, is one of the most distant objects ever observed with Webb. Moreover, this distance discovery was not the only surprising finding of Webb regarding this object. Prior to Webb’s launch into space, scientists had theorized that the early galaxies that existed in the universe were of small sizes and intensities. However, the observations of MoM-z14 indicated that it was around 100 times brighter than predicted by those theories.

Why Brightness Matters

The ability of such a galaxy to be so bright within the early universe indicates that the early universe was a much more “busy” place than scientists had theorized. In order for a galaxy to be this bright, it must have been producing a great many stars.

Another interesting finding from Webb concerns the galaxy’s chemistry. Webb’s NIRSpec instrument detected high levels of nitrogen within the galaxy. Nitrogen molecules are created by stars within a galaxy as they undergo their life cycles and die. Because the galaxy is so old, it was not supposed to have developed these chemicals yet. Scientists, therefore, theorized that the first stars in this galaxy were immense.

Webb’s detection of such a distant yet bright and chemically complex galaxy helps explain one of the universe’s mysteries: how the “fog” of space cleared. After the Big Bang, space was filled with hydrogen gas that prevented light from passing through the universe. However, as the first stars evolved, they cleared the hydrogen gas and made the universe transparent. Thus, scientists believe that the young galaxy was responsible for performing this function within its own area of space.

Connecting the Past to the Present

These discoveries were made possible by scientists’ ability to compare the ancient stars observed within our own Milky Way galaxy with those discovered by Webb. It is as if scientists located one of the fossils of one of these ancient stars and used the telescope to observe the “living” animal that once walked the planet.

What Comes Next

Furthermore, scientists believe this is merely the beginning of Webb’s discoveries. As scientists thought the observations of Webb represented the furthest that light could travel through space and time, Webb revealed that there are objects even further back in time. Thus, scientists believe the universe was a bright and dynamic place even at its beginning.