NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has achieved a new first: capturing a spectacular image of a Milky Way-like galaxy in its early stages of formation. This distant galaxy has been christened “Firefly Sparkle”.
Spectacular images captured by the NASA telescope photo: NASA
“Firefly Sparkle” is located more than 13 billion light-years from Earth, meaning that its light traveled to us from a time when the Universe was only 600 million years old.
The image reveals clusters of stars at different stages of formation, with distinct hues determined by chemical composition and temperature, the BBC writes.
“I love the twinkling galaxy with its Christmas lights shining as it did when the Universe was only 600 million years old.” declared for prof. Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal for Scotland.
It’s the first time scientists have seen clusters of stars assembled to form a galaxy like our Milky Way, and it offers clues about how the Universe formed.
Scientists called the distant galaxy “Firefly Sparkle”as it also resembles a swarm of multicolored fireflies.
The varying colors of star clusters provide information about their age and the chemical processes that occur in the early stages of galaxy formation.
The light of the galaxy “Firefly Sparkle” it comes from a period close to the beginning of the Universe, making it an invaluable source of information for understanding the formation of the Milky Way.
