Measuring the energy that galaxies produced in that time will help us understand how galaxies reionized the universe, reverting it from being neutral gas to once again being an ionized plasma like it was after the Big Bang.
The gas between galaxies was largely nontransparent to energetic light, making it hard to observe young galaxies. Because the medium bands cover a range of various wavelengths, we can either straight discover some of the first galaxies in the early universe, or we can age-date the stars in galaxies when the universe was about one billion years old to understand when the galaxy actually formed their stars in the past. Were getting a sort of hybrid between imaging and spectroscopy, so were getting detailed info for generally all of the galaxies in the field, as opposed to traditional spectroscopy where you might just pick a few galaxies in the field of view for study. MUSE is really great at discovering galaxies that have Lyman-alpha emission, or light from ionized hydrogen in these galaxies, which are the type of galaxies that existed when reionization was ending.
This picture of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field was taken by the Near-Infrared Camera on NASAs James Webb Space Telescope. The Webb image observes the field at depths comparable to Hubble– revealing galaxies of comparable faintness– in simply one-tenth as much observing time. It includes 1.8-micron light shown in blue, 2.1-micron light shown in green, 4.3-micron light revealed in yellow, 4.6-micron light revealed in orange, and 4.8-micron light shown in red (filters F182M, F210M, F460M, f430m, and f480m). Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Christina Williams (NSFs NOIRLab), Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).
What is very important for people to learn about these Webb observations?
Michael Maseda: The fact that we see hot, ionized gas is telling us precisely where stars are being born in these galaxies. Now we can separate those locations from where stars already existed. That piece of details is very essential because, billions of years later on, we dont precisely know how galaxies ended up being how they are today. Its essential to note that we still havent seen everything there is to see. Our entire program was ~ 24 hours, which isnt that much time in the grand plan of how much time other observatories have looked at it. However, even in this reasonably short quantity of time, were beginning to put together a new image of how galaxies are growing at this really interesting point in the history of deep space.
What are you thinking about discovering by exploring the Hubble Ultra Deep Field with Webb?
Christina Williams: We proposed to image the Ultra Deep Field using some of Webbs NIRCams medium-band image filters, which enabled us to take images of spectral features more precisely than we might with broadband filters since medium-band filters span a shorter wavelength variety. This provides us more sensitivity in measuring colors, which helps us understand the history of star development and ionization properties of galaxies during the first billion years of the universe, like in the Reionization Era. Determining the energy that galaxies produced because time will assist us understand how galaxies reionized the universe, reverting it from being neutral gas to as soon as again being an ionized plasma like it sought the Big Bang.
( Click image for complete Cosmic Reionization infographic. More than 13 billion years earlier, during the Era of Reionization, the universe was a really different location. The gas in between galaxies was mostly opaque to energetic light, making it difficult to observe young galaxies. What allowed the universe to become completely ionized, or transparent, eventually resulting in the “clear” conditions found in much of deep space today? The James Webb Space Telescope will peer deep into area to gather more information about items that existed throughout the Era of Reionization to assist us comprehend this major transition in the history of deep space. Credit: NASA, ESA, Joyce Kang (STScI).
Sandro Tacchella: One of the crucial exceptional questions in extragalactic astrophysics is how the very first galaxies form. Given that the medium bands cover a series of different wavelengths, we can either straight find some of the very first galaxies in the early universe, or we can age-date the stars in galaxies when deep space had to do with one billion years of ages to understand when the galaxy actually formed their stars in the past. This study assists to pin down the formation of the very first galaxies.
Were getting a sort of hybrid in between imaging and spectroscopy, so were getting in-depth details for generally all of the galaxies in the field, as opposed to traditional spectroscopy where you could only select a few galaxies in the field of view for study. MUSE is extremely great at discovering galaxies that have Lyman-alpha emission, or light from ionized hydrogen in these galaxies, which are the type of galaxies that existed when reionization was ending.
The abilities of NASAs James Webb Space Telescopes Near-Infrared Camera are on full display in this comparison in between Hubbles and Webbs observation of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The left, which shows Hubbles observation with its Wide Field Camera 3, required an exposure time of 11.3 days, while the right only took 0.83 days. Several areas within the Webb image expose formerly undetectable, red galaxies. Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Christina Williams (NSFs NOIRLab), Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI).
Was there anything unanticipated in these data that shocked you?
Michael: I do not know if I was shocked exactly, however the images were even better than I was anticipating. In these images, you can actually see by eye that this is ionized gas over a fairly big location.
Christina: I believe that seeing how gorgeous the images are and how high quality they ended up being was certainly a high point. We calculated that we would be able to do things like this, however it was various to see it and have the genuine information in practice.
Why did you elect to make the information instantly public?
Sandro: Galaxies are extremely complex systems in which a vast array of different processes deal with various spatial and temporal scales, so there are many techniques that can be used to better comprehend the physics of galaxies. Making it offered to numerous various groups will assist in the search for more insight.
Christina: Webb is still brand-new, and individuals are still discovering the finest practices of how to analyze information sets. It benefits everyone to have a couple of data sets that are readily available right away to assist individuals comprehend the finest way to make usage of Webb data moving forward, and to much better plan programs in future cycles that are based on real experience with information.
About the Authors:.
Christina Williams is an assistant astronomer at the National Optical Infrared Astronomy Research Lab (NOIRLab) in Tucson, Arizona.
Sandro Tacchella is an assistant teacher of astrophysics at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.
Michael Maseda is an assistant professor of astronomy at University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.
The research study group, consisting of Christina Williams, Sandro Tacchella, and Michael Maseda, used Webbs medium-band image filters to gather more accurate information on star formation history and ionization residential or commercial properties of galaxies during the universes first billion years. This info will help them understand how galaxies reionized the universe.
NASAs James Webb Space Telescope observed the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, providing high-resolution images and valuable information on the early universes galaxies. This info help in comprehending galaxy reionization and was revealed for varied analysis and refining information analysis strategies.
On October 11, 2022, NASAs James Webb Space Telescope invested over 20 hours observing the long-studied Hubble Ultra Deep Field for the very first time. The general observer program (GO 1963) concentrated on examining the field in wavelengths between approximately 2 and 4 microns.
NASA spoke with Christina Williams (NSFs NOIRLab), Sandro Tacchella (University of Cambridge), and Michael Maseda (University of Wisconsin-Madison) to get more information about the first observation of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field through Webbs eyes.
Editors Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review procedure.
