The universe is packed with galaxies. Everywhere we look we see galaxies crammed into the cosmos, grouped in clusters and great sheets that are littered throughout space-time. The most distant galaxies ever seen have been identified by the Hubble Space Telescope as being 13.4 billion light years away. Yet these are not even the most distant galactic structures out there. It’s the first galaxies that hold the record for being the furthest away from us. However, we’re yet to see them. To do so we will need the infrared prowess of the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which will be able to see galaxies as they formed just 300 or 400 million years after the Big Bang – the event that threw the cosmos into existence.
Understanding how galaxies form is a bit like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together. Think of each galaxy as being a piece of that puzzle. Because galaxies are so old and evolve so slowly, when we see a galaxy in the night sky we are just seeing a single snapshot of its long life. However, the galaxies are all at different stages of their evolution, so if we can put all these snapshots together – just like arranging the pieces of a puzzle – we can build an overall picture of how galaxies like our own Milky Way grew into the star, dust, gas and dark matter-packed structures we see today.
Denne historien er fra Issue 134-utgaven av All About Space UK.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 134-utgaven av All About Space UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED
