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At last, JWST has shattered the record for most distant galaxy.
The viewing area of the JADES survey, along with the four most distant galaxies verified within this field-of-view. The three galaxies at z = 13.20, 12.63, and 11.58 are all more distant than the previous record-holder, GN-z11, which had been identified by Hubble.
At 33 billion light-years away, JADES-GS-z13-0 is the farthest object ever seen.
The light from any galaxy that was emitted after the start of the hot Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago, would have reached us by today so long as it’s within about 46.1 billion light-years at present. But the light from the earliest, most distant galaxies will be blocked by intervening matter and redshifted by the expanding Universe. Both represent severe challenges to detection, which is why Hubble couldn’t see beyond about a redshift of 11, even under the most serendipitous circumstances. JWST has already broken that record.
Its light was emitted just 320 million years after the Big Bang.
Schematic diagram of the Universe’s history, highlighting reionization. Before stars or galaxies formed, the Universe was full of light-blocking, neutral atoms that formed back when the Universe was ~380,000 years old. Most of the Universe doesn’t become reionized until 550 million years afterwards, with some regions achieving full reionization earlier and others later. The first major waves of reionization begin happening at around ~200 million years of age, while a few fortunate stars may form just 50-to-100 million years after the Big Bang. With the right tools, like the JWST, we are beginning to reveal more distant galaxies than any other tool had made possible previously.
We’re seeing back 13.5 billion years: to when the Universe was 2.3% its current age.
The probabilities of finding galaxies of a certain redshift/brightness combination within a particular volume of space, color-coded for likelihood. The earliest JWST galaxy candidates (at z > 10), some of which have now been verified, don’t pose as much of a problem for what should exist within our Universe versus what we’re finding as the large, bright, massive galaxies at more modest (10 > z > 6) redshifts.
This far outstrips anything Hubble could’ve done.
Only because this distant galaxy, GN-z11, is located in a region where the intergalactic medium is mostly reionized, can Hubble reveal it to us at the present time. To see further, we require a better observatory, optimized for these kinds of detection, than Hubble. Although the galaxy appears very red, that’s only due to the redshifting effect of the expanding Universe. Intrinsically, the galaxy itself is very blue. Other high-redshift galaxy candidates have not yet been spectroscopically confirmed.
Hubble is warm, small, and limited in wavelength range.
Over the course of 50 days, with a total of over 2 million seconds of total observing time (the equivalent of 23 complete days), the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (XDF) was constructed from a portion of the prior Hubble Ultra Deep Field image. Combining light from ultraviolet through visible light and out to Hubble’s near-infrared limit, the XDF represented humanity’s deepest view of the cosmos: a record that stood until it was broken by JWST. In the red box, where no galaxies are seen by Hubble, the JWST’s JADES survey revealed the most distant galaxy to date: JADES-GS-z13-0.
JWST overcomes all of these constraints, while including a superior spectrograph.
The JWST, now fully operational, has seven times the light-gathering power of Hubble, but will be able to see much farther into the infrared portion of the spectrum, revealing those galaxies existing even earlier than what Hubble could ever see, owing to its longer-wavelength capabilities and much lower operating temperatures. Galaxy populations seen prior to the epoch of reionization should abundantly be discovered, including the shattering of Hubble’s old cosmic distance records.
By breaking up light into its individual wavelengths, JWST sees both absorbed and transmitted light.
The spectra obtained by JADES and the JWST NIRSpec instrument for the four most distant galaxies found thus far by the JADES survey. The Lyman break feature, robustly identified here for each of the four galaxies, determines the distance and redshift beyond a reasonable doubt, making JADES-GS-z13-0 the new cosmic record-holder. (For now.)
Using both the NIRCam and NIRSpec instruments, it’s begun conducting the JADES survey.
This image shows the region of study of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES). This area includes and contains the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field, and reveals new, record-breakingly distant galaxies that Hubble could not see.
JADES — the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey — will ultimately combine hundreds of hours of observations.
The spectroscopic identification of the Lyman break signature, present and easily visible in all four ultra-distant, JWST-identified galaxies, confirms their redshift and distance. This makes the top three galaxies the most distant, spectroscopically confirmed galaxies of all. As time goes on and observations continue, JWST should continue to extend this record.
Whenever faint, red galaxies show a critical “cutoff” in wavelength, their distance/redshift can be measured.
A combination of spectroscopy (top), likelihood comparisons with detailed simulations (middle), and photometry (bottom) have all been used to determine the distance to and properties of most distant galaxy JADES-GS-z13-0. Further analysis rules out other line possibilities, including carbon, oxygen, and a Balmer break, ensuring this galaxy really is sending light to us from a whopping 13.5 billion years ago.
At a redshift of 13.2 — meaning the observed light is 1320% longer than the emitted wavelength — JADES-GS-z13-0 breaks Hubble’s old record.
The most distant galaxy identified in JWST’s first deep-field image didn’t break Hubble’s cosmic record, but showcased the power of spectroscopy to reveal an incontrovertible distance and redshift for this object. Now, these techniques are being used to identify even deeper objects with superior, longer-period JWST observations.
Three similar, almost-as-distant galaxies in the same field strengthen the observational case for this galaxy’s robustness.
The four most distant galaxies identified as part of JADES, thus far, include three that surpass the threshold for “most distant galaxy” previously set by Hubble. With no more than a quarter of the total JADES data taken thus far, this record will likely fall again, perhaps multiple times, over the coming months and years.
JADES is specifically designed to take advantage of JWST’s instrument’s unique capabilities.
This is a simulated JWST/NIRCam mosaic that was generated using JAGUAR and the NIRCam image simulator Guitarra, at the expected depth of the JADES Deep program. In the beginning of 2022, scientists noted that in its first year of science operations, JWST may break many records that Hubble set over the course of its 32 year (and counting) lifetime, including records for most distant galaxy and most distant star. The former has just fallen.
With more observing time, fainter and more distant galaxies will appear, smashing even this new record.
A portion of the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field that’s been imaged for 23 total days, as contrasted with the simulated view expected by James Webb in the infrared. With large-area mosaics such as COSMOS-Web and PANORAMIC, the latter of which takes advantage of pure parallel observing, upcoming, we should not only shatter the cosmic record for most distant galaxy, but should learn about what the earliest luminous objects in the Universe looked like.
Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals, and no more than 200 words. Talk less; smile more.
