It actually was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
The James Webb Space Telescope has detected a peculiar region of space that could be a “missing link” to what’s understood about the early days of space and its original stars.
The “unprecedented” discovery shows stars within the galactic system GS-NDG-9422 (9422) radiating an “odd light signature.”
The phenomenon is due to gasses outshining stars in the galaxy, which was found about 1 billion years after the big bang, according to NASA.
“My first thought in looking at the galaxy’s spectrum was, ‘That’s weird,’” researcher Alex Cameron said of the finding, published in “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.”
He added that the unraveling “will help us understand how the cosmic story began.”
Cameron and theorist Harley Katz began running computer models to see how it was the cosmic gas could ultimately become hotter than their solar sources. Their modeling was a spitting image of what the Webb telescope saw — something consistent with so-called Population III stars that existed in the early universe.
“It looks like these stars must be much hotter and more massive than what we see in the local universe, which makes sense because the early universe was a very different environment,” Katz said.
In comparison, hot stars more local to Earth have temperatures between 70,000 to 90,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Way out in the universe’s boondocks by galaxy 9422, those temps scald beyond 140,000 degrees.
That is due to what the experts believe to be “a brief phase of intense star formation” creating several hot stars. Essentially, the galaxy’s gas clouds are taking in such a high volume of photons that it’s out-heating and outshining the source — similar to scorching asphalt being pounded by the sun.
Although 9422 is void of any Population III stars, Katz said its stellar residents “are different than what we are familiar with” and serve a larger purpose.
“The exotic stars in this galaxy could be a guide for understanding how galaxies transitioned from primordial stars to the types of galaxies we already know,” he added.
And, thanks to the breakthrough Webb telescope, this is only the beginning of a better knowledge of deep space and its origins.
“It’s a very exciting time, to be able to use the Webb telescope to explore this time in the universe that was once inaccessible,” Cameron said. “We are just at the beginning of new discoveries and understanding.”
