Six galaxies merge into one: James Webb Telescope reveals formation of massive galaxy 12 billion years ago
Astronomers have identified the merger of six galaxies in an unprecedented cosmic event that occurred in the early days of the universe, thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope. The unprecedented detection makes it possible to study the joint formation of an immense galaxy and the development of a supermassive black hole in its nucleus.
Advanced instruments on James Webb offer new insight into already known objects, such as the galaxy cluster Abell 2744, previously examined by the Hubble Space Telescope. Recent technology provides enhanced perspectives on celestial phenomena.
The sighting of this galactic collision, made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope, marks a crucial advance in understanding the origins of the cosmos. The phenomenon unfolded approximately 12 billion years in the past, around 1.8 billion years after the Big Bang, and experts project that the cluster will give rise to a galaxy of colossal proportions.
The detection began when radio astronomers identified an atypical emission, indicating the existence of an active black hole. However, the Webb telescope team was surprised to spot not one but six spiral galaxies in close proximity, as reported by Aayush Saxena of the University of Oxford.
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Observing the merger of multiple galactic systems
The spatial ensemble, called TGSSJ1530+1049, presents the properties of a “protocluster”, indicating the embryonic phase for the formation of a cluster of galaxies. According to Roderik Overzier, from Leiden, such structures are like “seeds” for today’s large clusters, offering a unique chance to witness massive galaxies transitioning into a unified system.
James Webb not only revealed the group of galaxies, but also the young supermassive black hole located at its center. Additional information from radio telescopes such as the European VLBI and the UK’s e-MERLIN network revealed jets of matter expelled at high speed from the vicinity of the black hole, a phenomenon explained by Krisztina Gabányi, from Eötvös Loránd University, as the release of material falling into the black hole.
Most galaxies in the TGSSJ1530+1049 system occupy a small space, notably smaller than the size of the Milky Way. Despite this, the region is home to hundreds of billions of solar masses in stars, with an extraordinarily high star formation, between 70 and 163 solar masses annually, contrasting with the less than ten new stars of the same size formed per year in the Milky Way.
This area is classified as one of the densest massive galaxy clusters ever identified in the early universe. Analyzes carried out by the James Webb Space Telescope and cutting-edge radio telescopes are unraveling the mechanisms behind the formation of large galaxies and supermassive black holes, with the conclusions detailed in publications such as The Open Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
The discovery offers crucial data for researchers focused on the evolution of galaxies and black holes in the earliest eras of the universe. The wealth of details obtained is the result of collaboration between infrared and radio wave observations, a strategy that was validated by the scientists participating in the project.
