The first science-quality image from NASA's newest space telescope contained a hidden treasure that could contain some of the universe's first stars.
That image was the first deep-field image from theJWST. A team of Canadian sceptics have discovered a small group of objects surrounding a large group of stars. The surrounding objects that inspired the nickname are of particular scientific interest because they could be the most distant clusters of stars ever found.
The clues about the early stages of the growth and evolution of the universe can be found in the ancient stars that make up aglobular clusters. The Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS) team found five of the compact objects surrounding the SparklerGalaxy to be clusters. These could be some of the oldest clusters ever seen, dating back to the beginning of the universe.
Kartheik G. Iyer, an astronomer at the University of Toronto in Canada and co-lead author of the study, told Space.com that they were surprised to find such a unique object so early on. Most of the sparkles around the main body of the galaxy are old and massive.
The 'jewel-filled' photo is stunning. What are we interested in here?
The scientists could model the clusters precisely to better understand their physical properties thanks to the JWST image. It was not possible to use such distant clusters to date the first stars.
We want to know when stars started to be born because we want to age-date all the objects in the universe. Lamiya Mowla is an astronomer at the University of Toronto.
Scientists haven't been able to determine the ages of the 150 globular clusters. Mowla explained that while it is easy to age-date most things in our universe, this isn't the case with ancient objects, which are more recent in appearance. The universe was just 4.5 billion years old when the SparklerGalaxy was 9 billion years ago.
Mowla said to think of the clusters as humans do. She said that looking at a picture to see if a person is 50 years old or 55 years old is similar to looking at a picture to see if a person is 55 years old. It's easier to tell if a person is 5 or 10. It is easy to tell if they are a 1-year-old or a 6-year-old.
Calculating a person's age is like looking at the image of an infant rather than a middle-aged person because the globular clusters look very young.
The age of the clusters was confirmed using data from the NIRISS instrument. Young clusters that are active in forming stars have no sign of oxygen.
The Hubble Space Telescope was able to assist in the observation of the SparklerGalaxy but was unable to resolve the clusters around it.
Einstein's theory of general relativity was the first to predict giltational lensing.
The fabric of spacetime is affected by objects of mass. The larger the mass, the greater the "dent," or curvature, it causes. The path of light is bended in space. A background object can appear larger in an image if the mass of a foreground lensing object is extreme.
The SparklerGalaxy has a weird, stretched shape and magnifies it enough to be spotted by the jwst. Several of the surrounding clusters can be seen in the deep-field image.
The study of these objects was aided by the magnification and the multiple images created by the lensing, but also helped confirm that these clusters are in the line of view.
One of the questions surrounding the SparklerGalaxy is how much the foreground object is magnifying it.
Iyer said that the magnification of the SparklerGalaxy is not as constrained as they would like. We want to build a better magnification model so that we can figure out if it's enlarged by a factor of 10 or 100.
Understanding how much the SparklerGalaxy and its clusters are magnified could help determine their age and distance from Earth.
In October, the CANUCS team will use the JWST telescope to study five massive clusters of galaxies, around which they expect to find more systems like those around the SparklerGalaxy.
Iyer said they hope the knowledge that the clusters can be observed from such a distance will spur further science and searches for similar objects.
The release of the first images of the telescope had been eagerly anticipated. Iyer said that some of his colleagues didn't sleep on the night that the deep-field image was revealed, and that Mowla looked back on how quickly the search for important Cosmic objects began.
The whole CANUCS collaboration looked at the image together after the big reveal from NASA.
She said that they saw a weirdly shaped system. There are star clusters in the color image that you don't see in other galaxies.
They said that the discovery of such distant clusters in the first deep-field image from JWST is an example of how the telescope is continuing to deliver impressive findings and shaping astronomy's future. The duo are referring to the fact that while the universe was only about 4 billion years old, the SparklerGalaxy and its companions are still close enough to be seen.
Mowla said that the data is deeper than they anticipated.
The timing is perfect for Mowla, an early-career researcher. She said it's an amazing time for young astronomer who are just starting out. We feel fortunate to have this telescope at the beginning of our careers because people have been waiting for it for so long.
The research was published in a journal.
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