crossorigin="anonymous"> ‘Firefly Sparkle’: NASA’s James Webb Telescope Finds Small Milky Way-Like Galaxy – Times of India – Subrang Safar: Your Journey Through Colors, Fashion, and Lifestyle

‘Firefly Sparkle’: NASA’s James Webb Telescope Finds Small Milky Way-Like Galaxy – Times of India


NASAOf The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a galaxy from the early universe, providing a rare glimpse into how galaxies like the Milky Way might have formed.
The galaxy, called the “Firefly Sparkle” for its brightness. Star clusters600 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only 5 percent of its current age.
“Webb detected different star clusters Firefly Sparkle GalaxyThat existed 600 million years after the Big Bang – the first discovery of a galaxy as faint as the young Milky Way, NASA’s Web Telescope handle posted on its X account.

The galaxy gets its nickname from its appearance in web images. “A group of fireflies — which looks like a galaxy — is called a glow,” Wellesley College assistant professor Lamiya Mola was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
Mola is co-lead author of a paper on the formation of galaxies less massive than star clusters in the 600-million-year-old universe, published in the journal Nature.
A mass equal to 10 million Suns
The Firefly Sparkle, which weighs as much as 10 million suns, is one of the oldest. Low-mass galaxies Discovered two other relatively small galaxies as neighbors and named them Firefly-Best Friend and Firefly-New Best Friend.
Unlike other galaxies of this era, which are significantly larger, this galaxy’s small size and lightweight nature make it a rare find. Its visible part spans only 1,000 light-years—a fraction of the Milky Way’s 100,000 light-year diameter.
A galaxy consists of a cluster of 10 stars spread out in a long arc of stars. The researchers noted that these clusters represent different stages of star formation. “There are many different types of star clusters in this galaxy, and it’s amazing that we can see them so clearly so early in the universe’s history,” said Chris Willott, another author of the paper, quoted by NASA.
Gravitational lensing
Webb obtained detailed images of the firefly sparkle caused by gravitational lensing, a phenomenon where a massive galaxy cluster bends and amplifies light from objects behind it. This magnified the galaxy by a factor of 16-26, making its features visible. “Without this lensing effect, we wouldn’t be able to see the galaxy,” Karthik Iyer, co-lead author of Columbia University and a NASA Hubble Fellow, was quoted as saying by NASA.
The galaxy’s irregular shape, resembling an elongated raindrop, suggests that it is still forming. “Most of the galaxies that the Web has shown us aren’t stretched or extended, so we can’t see their ‘building blocks’ separately. With Firefly Sparkle, we’re seeing a galaxy piece by piece. It is made in pieces,” said Moula.
Milky Way Ancestors
The discovery of the Firefly Sparkle gives scientists a glimpse of what the Milky Way looked like in its early years. The researchers found that the mass of the galaxy matches what would be expected from the early progenitor of the Milky Way. “This observation allows us to see what galaxies like our Milky Way looked like when they were young,” Mola said.
Each star cluster in Firefly Sparkle shows slight differences in color, suggesting stars formed at different times. Young, hot stars appear blue, while older stars appear red. “It’s interesting to see how different stages of star formation coexist in such a small galaxy,” Mola said.
‘Firefly Best Friend’ and ‘Firefly New Best Friend’
Firefly Sparkle has two smaller galaxies, called ‘Firefly-Best Friend’ and ‘Firefly-New Best Friend’. They are located at a distance of 6,500 and 42,000 light years, respectively.
NASA said all three galaxies could easily fit inside the Milky Way. The researchers believe that their interaction may affect the development of the firefly sparkle. Each time a galaxy passes another galaxy, the gas thins and cools, allowing new stars to form in clumps, increasing the galaxies’ mass. “It has long been predicted that galaxies formed in the early universe through successive interactions and mergers with other smaller galaxies,” Yoshihisa Asada, a doctoral student at Kyoto University, told NASA.
History of Galaxy formation
The results support current theories about early galaxy formation. Dense clouds of gas in the young universe likely broke up into star clusters, which over time merged to create larger galaxies.
“Current theory and simulations suggest several possible mechanisms for how stars formed from gas under the extreme conditions of the early universe,” Ayer said. “Our analysis shows that these galaxies form through the formation of massive star clusters in regions of high pressure and density.”



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