The National Astronomical Research Institute reveals the talents of Thai astronomers, who have discovered 13 more low-mass galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope, less massive than the Milky Way galaxy.
Today (Feb. 1), the page “NARIT, National Astronomical Research Institute” posted a message saying, “NARIT researchers discovered 13 additional low-mass galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope. Dr. Nicha Leetochawalit NARIT Researcher, Cosmology and Theoretical Astronomy Research Group Lead a team of astronomers under the GLASS collaboration research network Using data from the first images of the James Webb Space Telescope, we searched for tiny galaxies. Which occurred while the universe was about 550-700 million years old, or about 13,000 million years ago, discovered 13 galaxies with masses 10-100 times less than our Milky Way galaxy, considered another group of galaxies with the least mass. As ever discovered during this period of the universe The discovery gives astronomers more information about low-mass galaxies during this time in the universe. and enough to be used to analyze statistical properties This research has been published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters
About 13,000 million years ago, while the universe was about 550-700 million years old, it was a period in which the matter between galaxies turned into plasma again, called the Epoch of Reionization. In order to understand the evolution of the universe in that era, Astronomers need to study galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization, including their mass, age, shape, and even metallicity. Especially galaxies with low mass. However, Observing low mass galaxies is difficult. Because those galaxies are very far from our world. And it is extremely bright, requiring the use of large telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope.
For this research, the researchers used the first set of imaging data from the James Webb Space Telescope under the project. GLASS-JWST-ERS program searches for low-mass galaxies The first set of images was taken using the NIRCam instrument for observation over a period of 20 hours. Images obtained with this device produce images captured through seven filters in infrared wavelengths that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Covering wavelengths between 900-4,400 nanometers, the imaging data led to the discovery of 13 new galaxies that are 10-100 times less massive than our own Milky Way galaxy.
When the newly discovered galaxy data is calculated It was found that these galaxies are producing 1-10 new stars per year, and the average age of stars within these galaxies is between 30-200 million years, in accordance with theories that astronomers have predicted. In addition, from the age data of sphere The research team was able to create a simple calculation formula. to estimate the birth rate of new stars Including the mass of galaxies as well.”
