Revolutionary discovery: groups of galaxies from the early days of the universe!

Revolutionary discovery: groups of galaxies from the early days of the universe!

Early structures of the universe are still far from Earth and difficult to observe. But thanks to innovative technologies and extensive research, scientists are able to shed light on the darkness of the cosmos. Particularly important advances have been made by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), whose data is revolutionizing understanding of the beginnings of the universe.

Matteo Maturi, an astrophysicist at Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Heidelberg, together with colleagues from the University of Bologna, have developed a new process based on a special algorithm. This process is used by an international research team to analyze JWST's extensive data collected through the COSMOS Web program.

Latest findings from the cosmos

The high quality data provided by the JWST has led to the creation of a newly developed catalog. This catalog includes groups of galaxies that are almost twelve billion years old, covering one of the earliest points in the formation of the structure of the universe. Analysis of this data so far revealed that these groups of galaxies should be studied for physical properties. The goal is to understand how these structures arose in early cosmic history.

The aforementioned research involves scientists from a variety of countries, including Chile, China, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Canada, Switzerland and the USA. The results are in the specialist journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” have been published and show the importance of international cooperation in modern astronomy.

A look at the development of the JWST

The journey of the James Webb Space Telescope began in 1989 with a workshop that laid the foundations for the development of a future observatory. Over the years, various technical and financial requirements were defined, ultimately leading to the naming of the telescope in 2002. The first construction phase began in 2004, followed by countless tests and developments that led to the final launch decision in 2021. The actual launch of the JWST took place on December 25, 2021, when the telescope was successfully launched into space by the Ariane 5 rocket.

The first wave of science data was released in July 2022, symbolizing the start of scientific operations and showing some impressive images of galaxies, including the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. This marked not only a significant technological milestone, but also a breakthrough in astronomy that will provide researchers with numerous new insights into the structure and evolution of the universe.

The combination of high-quality astronomical observations and advanced analysis methods gives hope that we will explore the universe and its evolution to the deepest corners of its origin. In this sense, the JWST is a crucial key that opens the doors to new discoveries.