The James Webb Telescope is Rewriting the History of Our Universe's Origins
The James Webb Space Telescope’s launch has enabled astronomers to observe the universe so closely that we are nearing the period when the earliest galaxies were believed to have formed. For much of the universe’s history, there appears to be a consistent correlation between the number of stars a galaxy has formed and the quantity of heavy elements it has produced.
But for the first time, we now see signs that this relation between the amount of stars and elements does not hold for the earliest galaxies. The reason is likely that these galaxies simply are in the process of being created, and have not yet had the time to create the heavy elements.
The Universe is teeming with galaxies — immense collections of stars and gas — and as we peer deep into the cosmos, we see them near and far. Because the light has spent more time reaching us, the farther away a galaxy is, we are essentially looking back through time, allowing us to construct a visual narrative of their evolution throughout the history of the Universe.
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