CNN —Astronomers have spotted the oldest “dead” galaxy ever observed while studying the cosmos with the James Webb Space Telescope, and it’s one of the deepest views into the distant universe made with the observatory to date.
The galaxy existed when the universe was only about 700 million years into its current age of about 13.8 billion years.
But something made the galaxy suddenly halt star formation almost as quickly as star birth had begun more than 13 billion years ago, and the researchers have yet to uncover the cause.
Studying the galaxy could reveal new insights about the early universe and the factors that affect star formation within galaxies, according to the authors.
“Until now, to understand the early universe, we’ve used models based on the modern universe.
Persons:
James Webb, “, ”, Tobias, Francesco D’Eugenio, “ We’re, Webb, Roberto Maiolino, Maiolino, ” D’Eugenio, —
Organizations:
CNN —, Telescope, University of Cambridge’s Kavli, Cosmology, Kavli, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge