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Astronomers using theJames Webb Space Telescope(JWST ) have discovered the oldest " dead " Galax urceolata ever seen — but the cosmic corpse has left scientist amaze as it defies explanation by our current knowledge of the other cosmos .
The galaxy suddenly and mysteriously block star formation when the universe was just 700 million years older , when countless whizz were birthing thanks to an abundance of pristine gas and detritus elsewhere in the universe .
An image from the James Webb Space Telescope highlighting JADES-GS-z7-01-QU, the oldest “dead” galaxy ever observed
The galaxy , nominate JADES - GS - z7 - 01 - QU and line in a paper write Wednesday ( March 6 ) in the journalNature , provides astronomers with a peek into the elusive underpinnings of wandflower evolution in a primordial universe , including why extragalactic nebula stop form new stars and whether personnel repel their starbursts spay across era .
" Galaxies need a productive supply of gas to form new maven , and the early universe was like an all - you - can - eat buffet , " study lead authorTobias Looser , a research worker at the University of Cambridge ’s Kavli Institute for Cosmology , Cambridge ( KICC ) , said in astatement .
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Some early galaxies seem to have lost their star-forming gas to intense radiation from hyperactive black holes, such as the quasar J2054-0005 seen only 900 million years after the Big Bang in this artist’s illustration.
Current models can not excuse how the newfound galaxy not only take shape in less than a billion year after the Big Bang , but also close down its star factory so rapidly . " It ’s only after in the world that we [ usually ] start to see extragalactic nebula stop forming whiz , " study co - authorFrancesco D’Eugenio , also a investigator at KICC , sound out in the financial statement . In comparison , a smattering of other " dead " galaxies found elsewhere appear to have paused forming novel wizard when the universe was about 3 billion years former , the researcher state .
" Everything seems to pass off faster and more dramatically in the other macrocosm , " added Looser . " And that might include galaxies incite from a star - forming phase to sleeping orquenched . "
To get a line JADES - GS - z7 - 01 - QU , Looser and his colleagues used the JWST ’s powerful infrared sight to peer through the blockheaded veil of junk becloud the early objects in the universe . In addition to being the oldest " dead " or " extinguish " wandflower pick out so far , the newfound extragalactic nebula is also many sentence low-cal than other likewise quiescent galaxies antecedently found in the former macrocosm .
JWST ’s information suggest the galaxy intensely form stars for somewhere between 30 million to 90 million days before it rapidly shut off , although precisely what ended it is still nameless . uranologist eff of a couple different factor that can slow down or extinguish star establishment . For illustration , turbulence inside a galaxy , such as radiotherapy emitted bya supermassive black hole , can press gas out of the galaxy and famish it of the gas reservoir it relies on to form maven . Another challenging opening is that the Galax urceolata ’s surroundings at the fourth dimension did not sufficiently replenish the gas reservoir being ware by bear stars , leading to a deficit in star - forming cloth .
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However , " we ’re not sure if any of those scenario can explain what we ’ve now seen with Webb , " study co - authorRoberto Maiolino , an astrophysicist at KICC , said in the instruction . Current models based on the modern universe are unable to excuse the properties of JADES - GS - z7 - 01 - QU , suggest they " may take to be revisit , " Maiolino read .
Another possible account for the new galaxy ’s dormancy could be that " galaxy in the early universe ' die ' and then burst back to life , " D’Eugenio said . However , previousresearchof " dead " galaxies from when the universe of discourse was around 3 billion years sure-enough — a time of its most prolific sensation birth — suggest such " numb " galaxies can not rejuvenate even via mergers with nearby galaxies , which instead only serve to " pant " them up .
" We ’ll need more observations to help us reckon that out , " said D’Eugenio .
