Astronomers Have Detected a Galaxy Millions of Years Older Than Any Previously Observed
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Summary
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2018, has helped astronomers discover the oldest known galaxy to date, giving it the name MoM z14, and placing its formation at 280 million years after the Big Bang.
MoM z14 is 13.5 billion years old, and therefore the furthest away and oldest object ever detected by a scientific instrument.
Due to the expansion of the universe, the light from the galaxy has been stretched, appearing redder, a phenomenon known as ‘redshift’.
MoM z14 is 50 times smaller than the Milky Way, and contains nitrogen and carbon, showing that it is not from the first generation of galaxies formed after the Big Bang, which would only have consisted of hydrogen and helium.
