According to the news of Science Daily, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Professor of Astronomy and Physics Joaquin Vieira and his team, SPT0418-47, which was previously detected by the US National Science Foundation’s (NSF) South Pole Telescope (SPT) and defined as a galaxy covered with a dust cloud. concentrated on.
Using Webb Telescope data, researchers found traces of complex organic molecules in the galaxy SPT0418-47, which is thought to be the oldest in the Universe.
Examining the data, the scientists emphasized that the gases in SPT0418-47 contain heavy elements, which shows that many stars form and disappear over time and form again.
The researchers emphasized that the gases in question contain “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)” molecules, and these organic molecules consisting of carbon chains are considered the basic building blocks for the earliest forms of life.
PAH molecules are found on Earth in the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines or in gases released as a result of forest fires.
“The new spectroscopic data allow us to observe the atomic and molecular composition of the galaxy, providing very important information about the formation of galaxies, their life cycles and how they evolve,” said Phadke. used the phrase.
“This project started when I was in graduate school studying very distant galaxies that are obscured by dust and difficult to detect. The dust grains absorb about half of the stellar radiation produced in the Universe and re-radiate them. This makes infrared rays from distant objects extremely weak,” Vieira explains. or renders it undetectable.” made its assessment.
Webb Telescope imaged galaxy with ‘Einstein Ring’ phenomenon
It was noted that the distance of the galaxy (SPT0418-47) from the Earth is 12.5 billion light years, which shows that the galaxy was formed 1.5 billion years after the creation of the Universe.
It was determined that the image of the galaxy in question was enlarged by 30-35 percent with the effect of the “Einstein Ring”.
Stating that the Webb Telescope made a detection as a result of a phenomenon called “nature’s magnifying glass” in the new research, Vieira said, “This magnification effect occurs when the two galaxies are perfectly aligned with the Earth’s position. The light from the back galaxy, the gravitational pull of the front galaxy. Due to an effect called the “Einstein ring”, it is bent into a ring shape and the image is enlarged.” made the statement.