The undeniable existence four galaxies dating when the Universe was only 300-500 million years old is confirmed through images and spectroscopic analysis of data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The research is presented in two publications in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Spectra taken with the James Webb Space Telescope reveal the most distant galaxies ever observed, back to a time when the Universe was only 2% of its current age.

Two of the galaxies (JADES-GS-z10-0 JADES-GS-z11-0) confirmed by the present survey were already known from Hubble imaging, while the other two (JADES-GS-z12-0 and JADES -GS-z13-0) were recently discovered. Scientists Brad Robertson of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Sandro Tachela of the University of Cambridge and their colleagues determined star formation rates, sizes and other properties that show each galaxy could contain 100 million solar masses in stars, in stellar populations less than a hundred million years old based on their cosmic age.

The scientists conclude that their moderate levels of star formation and compact size indicate increased surface densities of star formation rates, which are a key indicator of how galaxies formed. The measurements suggest that galaxies formed quickly with strong internal radiation fields.

In a second publication scientists Emma Curtis-Lake from the University of Hertfordshire, Stefano Carniani from the Italian university ‘Scuola Normale Superiore’ and their colleagues used the James Webb Telescope’s Near Infrared Spectrometry instrument to provide the first spectroscopic confirmations of galaxies which were not known and which are further away than those detected by the Hubble Space Telescope. They also confirmed that the two Hubble-detected galaxies were in the Universe when it was less than 350 million years old. The authors note that their findings demonstrate the rapid appearance of the first generations of galaxies.

In a companion article analyzing the two surveys, Peter Van Dokum, a professor in the Yale University Department of Astronomy, notes that looking at the bigger picture, including unconfirmed galaxies from other studies, “the message from the James Webb telescope is that the early Universe is teeming with bright galaxies. It appears that massive galaxy formation began unexpectedly early.”