James Webb offers an almost unrivaled view of the lines of the universe. One of the latest discoveries Webb has helped make is a new image of distant spiral galaxies that gives astronomers an unrestricted glimpse into the early stages of star formation.

The purpose of these observations is to better understand how stars formed in distant galaxies long ago. Astronomers hope to use various tools from James Webb to delve deeper into the history of the universe to provide more details about the earliest stages of star formation. By doing this, they can better understand how ancient galaxies formed and how star formation contributed to the expansion of the universe.

With his infrared devices, Webb can cut through most of the dust and gas that make up the various galaxies of the universe. This gives astronomers a clearer view of these galaxies and provides important information about how stars form within them. The light detected by astronomers has a longer wavelength and represents objects cooler than the light we can see with our own eyes.

Because Webb can see deep into gas and dust and capture light at these different wavelengths, James Webb can make more observations in the universe and learn more about star formation in these dusty galaxies. Astronomers have explained that the ability to use infrared light is key to tracking the colder, farther universe.

A new paper on these discoveries has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Using James Webb’s infrared instruments, the researchers focused on 19 of our closest colleagues to learn more about the earliest stages of star formation. Using Webb, they were able to determine the ages of the stars and learn more about how these stars developed. Source