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2 clusters · 2 sources · 22 days · First seen · Last updated

Early universe galaxy gas outflows

Overview

Astronomers utilizing the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array have identified a massive outflow of cold gas within the distant galaxy system CRISTAL-02. Existing approximately one billion years after the Big Bang, this system is experiencing a ‘galaxy-killing wind’ driven by intense star formation and subsequent supernova explosions.

Researchers suggest this process ejects the gas required to fuel future star production, providing a potential explanation for why many massive galaxies in the early universe appear quiescent or ‘dead.’ While initial reports focused on the gas plume stretching nearly as far as the galaxy itself, subsequent observations also noted the detection of a record-breaking hydroxyl megamaser—a natural cosmic laser—from a merging galaxy located over 8 billion light-years away, further illustrating the highly active environments of the early cosmos.

Entities

James Webb Space Telescope · Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array · Swinburne University of Technology · University of Pretoria · Dr. Rebecca Davies

Timeline

  1. 7 days ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources
    Astronomers observe massive gas outflows and cosmic lasers in the early universe

    Astronomers have identified a massive gas-clearing wind in the early galaxy CRISTAL-02 and detected a record-breaking hydroxyl megamaser from 8 billion light-years away.

  2. 29 days ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources
    James Webb Telescope Reveals Galaxy‑Killing Wind in Early Universe

    JWST and ALMA observations reveal a powerful gas‑driven wind from early galaxy CRISTAL‑02, explaining rapid star‑formation shutdown in massive galaxies.

Sources

astronomynow.com · scitechdaily.com