NASA early galaxy discovery shines light on 'Cosmic Dark Ages':
A new discovery by NASA's flagship James Webb Space Telescope has pushed forward the confirmed end date of the so-called "Cosmic Dark Ages" by some 270 million years.
In their study, an international team of researchers led by astrophysicist Joris Witstok of the University of Cambridge in England, analyzed the distant galaxy JADES-GS-z13-1-LA.
It is so far away that the light from it takes some 13.4 billion years to reach us, meaning we see it as it was just 330 million years after the big bang.
And from JADES-GS-z13-1-LA the team detected a signal of "reionization," the process through which the first stars made the universe once again transparent to light.
"We report the discovery of one of the most distant galaxies known to date," Witstok told Newsweek. "Unlike any other similarly distant galaxy, it shows a very clear, telltale signature that implies the galaxy contains a remarkably powerful source of extreme ultraviolet radiation.
"This also suggests it has made an unexpectedly early start to cosmic reionization, the process where neutral gas in between early galaxies is heated into a plasma by energetic radiation from stars and black holes forming in the first galaxies."
In the wake of the big bang, the universe gradually cooled down from its original, ultra-hot state, eventually allowing—around the universe's 380,000th birthday—free protons and electrons to combine into a fog mainly made up of neutral hydrogen atoms.
Because of this, even when the first stars formed, some 13.7 billion years ago, their light was quickly extinguished by the gas cloud. It is because of this (and the few other sources of light at the time) that this period is called the Cosmic Dark Ages.
Over time, sufficiently energetic ultraviolet radiation from the first stars and galaxies increasingly split the neutral hydrogen atoms back into electrons and protons—that is, "reionizing" them.
"The emergence of these first stars marks the end of the "Dark Ages" in cosmic history, a period characterized by the absence of discrete sources of light," NASA explains on its website.
"Understanding these first sources is critical, since they greatly influenced the formation of later objects such as galaxies. The first sources of light act as seeds for the later formation of larger objects."
[...] In their study, Witstok and his colleagues report detecting a signal of reionization coming from JADES-GS-z13-1-LA from 330 million years ago.
[...] "Up to this point, a similarly strong Lyman-α signal has not been observed until more than 600 million years after the Big Bang, whereas this galaxy is seen when the Universe was almost twice as young," Witstok said.
The source of the ionizing emissions, the researchers said, is most likely either massive, hot stars (the earliest stars were likely 30–300 times more massive than our sun and millions of times more bright) or a supermassive black hole.
Light Emitted by a Distant Galaxy Pierces Through the Early Universe's Fog:
A surprising observation from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed a vestige of a galaxy that peeked through the early universe's dense fog just 330 million years after the Big Bang. The recent sighting of ultraviolet light from this distant galaxy — called JADES-GS-z13-1 — has astonished researchers, shattering prior expectations of early galaxy formation.
Shortly after the Big Bang, the developing universe was clouded by a thick fog of neutral hydrogen, blocking the light emitted by galaxies. However, GS-z13-1 defied all odds and broke through the barrier with a wavelength of light known as a Lyman-alpha emission. Radiated by hydrogen atoms, the emission appeared much stronger than expected; astronomers are now trying to decipher where the radiation from this galaxy came from and what this could mean for continuing studies of the early universe.
The JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRc) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) were instrumental in identifying the galaxy and estimating its redshift, which reflects its distance from Earth based on how its light is stretched out as it moves through ever-expanding space. Most galaxies are continuously moving away, and as they get farther out, the light they emit shifts toward longer wavelengths at the "redder" end of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Imaging from the JWST, as explained in a study published inNature, pinned an initial redshift estimate of 12.9 for the galaxy, and further analysis yielded a more definitive redshift of 13.0; this figure indicates that the galaxy was observed at 330 million years after the Big Bang.
Researchers, however, didn't expect to see the prominent Lyman-alpha radiation that was captured along with the galaxy.
Much of the neutral hydrogen fog that permeated the early universe dissipated during a time called the epoch of reionization. As this period unfolded, the neutral hydrogen started to separate into ionized gas (due to light from early stars), causing the universe to become more transparent. The role of the Lyman-alpha radiation raises many questions for researchers, seemingly setting the initial stages of reionization to 330 million years after the Big Bang.
"We really shouldn't have found a galaxy like this, given our understanding of the way the universe has evolved," said co-author Kevin Hainline from the University of Arizona in a statement. "We could think of the early universe as shrouded with a thick fog that would make it exceedingly difficult to find even powerful lighthouses peeking through, yet here we see the beam of light from this galaxy piercing the veil."
Journal Reference:
Witstok, Joris, Jakobsen, Peter, Maiolino, Roberto, et al. Witnessing the onset of reionization through Lyman-α emission at redshift 13 [open], Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08779-5)
See also: JWST Finds an Object Producing Light That Shouldn't Exist
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Monday March 31 2025, @10:32PM
I kind of like older stories because you can review the most interesting recent interpretations. Here's my favorite so far:
So the scientists say the best model theory at this time gives us darkness, then light, then darkness, then light again.
OK then look at Genesis 1:16 where theres two periods of light; so the overall book of Genesis story is it started out with darkness, then light, then darkness, then light again; realize this was written down by people who were like barely literate goat herders; dropping calculus equations and supercomputer simulation programs on them was not going to fly, but here we are thousands of years later with Genesis 1:16 and similar, not bad for folks who thought pi was equal to about 3, which technically is correct although very unimpressive.
If you don't like my comparison, take it up with the scientists or with the barely illiterate goat herders centuries ago not with me; this ain't my fight, but I enjoy watching it on PPV with a couple beers.
(Score: 1) by Ian09 on Tuesday April 01 2025, @09:59AM
NASA's recent discovery of early galaxies offers groundbreaking insights into the "Cosmic Dark Ages," a period following the Big Bang when the universe was filled with neutral hydrogen. This finding is crucial because it provides a clearer understanding of how the first stars and galaxies formed, ultimately leading to the bright, complex universe we see today. In a metaphorical sense, the "Cosmic Dark Ages" can be compared to the mystery of hooded eyes—where something essential is hidden beneath a layer, waiting to be revealed. Just as those galaxies once shrouded the early universe in darkness, hooded eyes can sometimes obscure the full expression of a person’s emotions or features, creating an air of mystery. However, both the cosmos and the eyes invite us to explore and uncover their secrets, offering richer insights once we look closer. get best information [thehoodedeyes.com] about Hooded eyes.