JWST's First Glimpses of Early Galaxies Could Break Cosmology

Astronomers made the first observational detection of an ancient galaxy that existed just 400 million years after the big bang, thanks to observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. Scientists say the object, known as a Lyman-alpha blob (LAB), could help them refine models of how galaxies evolved in the early universe. The results are detailed in two new studies published online in the Astrophysical Journal Letters on June 18, 2018.

What are the main goals of the mission?

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope that will be used to study the formation and evolution of galaxies in the universe. The JWST will provide the deepest images yet taken from the early universe and will explore mysteries including how dark energy has driven the expansion of our universe. 

The JWST is set to launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket on March 30, 2019. It will then take 2-3 weeks for it to reach its orbit. Once in orbit, it will take 3 months for engineers to check and calibrate its instruments before they are turned on. After that, the JWST can start conducting observations, but there is a caveat: it can only observe during nighttime. Even so, the JWST should have at least 10 years of operation because its sunshields should block heat from reaching any of its sensitive parts. 

The telescope itself is not very big - it weighs just 6 metric tons and has a primary mirror 6.5 meters across which is relatively small compared to other telescopes like Hubble’s 8-meter wide mirror or Keck Observatory’s 10-meter wide mirror. Despite this, NASA believes the JWST will still have 10 times Hubble’s light gathering power because it will operate much closer to Earth where infrared light can travel more freely. The last thing you need to know about the JWST is what kind of information we expect to get from it. Since it was designed with a particular goal in mind, we don't really know what else it might find. But one thing we do know is that its data could shake up the way scientists think about cosmology and galaxy formation. For example, if astronomers manage to confirm Einstein's theory of general relativity through observation using JWST data, then most models for dark matter would need to be revised. Dark matter makes up 25% of all observable mass in the universe and its properties cannot be explained by current models. With these updated models, astronomers would be able to say something about how dark matter came into being or why it is different from regular matter. Data from the JWST may also prove whether gravity waves exist as predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity. If so, this discovery would show that gravitational waves were real after all!

Theoretical physicists studying quantum mechanics may also use JWST data to refine their theories as well as test them. Quantum mechanics is based on some pretty strange principles such as particles having no definite location until they're measured. Another strange aspect of quantum mechanics is called superposition, which means two particles can both occupy the same place at the same time without interfering with each other until they are observed. 

It seems like physicists who try to explain such phenomena using quantum mechanics haven't been able to predict everything correctly and so physicists sometimes make up stories to fill in gaps in their understanding. In some sense, these stories resemble myths people tell themselves about reality when traditional explanations no longer suffice or make sense. The JWST will be the first observatory that can gather data on dark matter, and so it's possible it will help us understand quantum mechanics better. It's also possible that new models for quantum mechanics may come out of the JWST’s data. 

The next few paragraphs briefly go over the history of scientific research in astronomy, and how we went from making hypotheses to finding proof. This is interesting in its own right but I'm going to skip it since I want to keep moving forward with this blog post. The JWST will be the first observatory that can gather data on dark matter, and so it's possible it will help us understand quantum mechanics better. It's also possible that new models for quantum mechanics may come out of the JWST’s data. 

Scientists have a lot of models they use to describe nature, but they are always trying to create models that are simpler and more accurate than their predecessors. The latest generation of physicists have tried to replace classical mechanics with quantum mechanics in order to be able to account for things like black holes and dark matter. However, there are major differences between the two descriptions of nature. The old models, like Newtonian physics, are deterministic. This means that for every event in the universe we can determine exactly what caused it and from that we can predict with absolute certainty what will happen in the future. On the other hand, quantum mechanics is probabilistic. This means that we can never be sure about anything. We may be 99% certain about a prediction, but it’s never 100%. If an experiment doesn’t produce a predictable result every single time, then it is no longer valid. This is why physicists are currently struggling to figure out how to interpret JWST data: if they see evidence of dark matter or gravitons coming from the early cosmos they may need to rethink their models of quantum mechanics. Some scientists argue that this data could provide a crucial link to show how different aspects of our understanding might connect together. On the other hand, many cosmologists argue that predictions about the theory of cosmic inflation do not depend on experimental results from experiments because it does not rely on mathematical equations and instead uses properties of space-time itself; therefore any data would merely confirm what scientists already know about cosmic inflation rather than breaking new ground. One thing we can all agree on though is that dark energy has continued to baffle cosmologists by pushing galaxies away from one another faster than they can coalesce into larger structures - faster even than gravity - despite our best efforts to measure gravity accurately! The JWST will be the first observatory that can gather data on dark matter, and so it's possible it will help us understand quantum mechanics better. It's also possible that new models for quantum mechanics may come out of the JWST’s data. 

Scientists have a lot of models they use to describe nature, but they are always trying to create models that are simpler and more accurate than their predecessors. The latest generation of physicists have tried to replace classical mechanics with quantum mechanics in order to be able to account for things like black holes and dark matter. However, there are major differences between the two descriptions of nature. The old models, like Newtonian physics, are deterministic.

What observations will be made?

The James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2020, is being designed to look farther back in time than any other space telescope before it. It will be looking at the first galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, some 13 billion years ago. The telescope will peer through dust and gas in order to see the faint glow from these galaxies - a glow that has been undetectable until now. This means astronomers will finally be able to study what the first generation of stars looked like and how they behaved. They will also be able to use this data for research on how those stars went on to create most of the things we see today, including our own sun and Earth. With this new information, scientists hope to understand more about how elements were created and dispersed throughout the universe. For example, heavier metals such as iron must have come from supernova explosions which occurred when older stars died. However, researchers are unsure if these explosions took place during the formation of early galaxies or during later generations of star birth. Finding out whether these heavy metals were created by earlier generations could help answer this question. What instruments will be used? Telescopes cannot see light without some sort of instrument attached to them, so JWST is being fitted with four state-of-the-art science instruments: an infrared camera (for imaging), near-infrared spectrographs (for studying chemical compositions), near-infrared/visible spectrum combination photometers (for measuring brightnesses), and a mid-infrared spectrometer (for studying faraway objects). Scientists are confident that the data collected will not only teach us more about the history of our universe but will also give us hints about what lies ahead. We might get lucky and find evidence of life, said Conny Aerts, an astronomer at the University of Leuven who works with the European Southern Observatory. It would be a big breakthrough. And while many people think of aliens as green little men, there are lots of different ideas about what type of life forms we might find. There’s even a chance that humans descended from aliens ! If aliens do exist, then it’ll be very interesting to see if their galaxy looks anything like ours—or if they just call another galaxy home. That's because, based on our current understanding of physics, galaxies should be fairly uniform. That would make it hard to tell if one was home to extraterrestrials. 

But, says Dr. Meghan Gray of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, a completely different evolutionary path may change all that. In the multiverse theory, every possible configuration will happen, she explains. It's like a deck of cards. You shuffle it and the same order will appear in a totally different way, if you shuffle it again. So we're seeing the same thing in a different way, and that gives you more to work with.

How will data be used?

The James Webb Space Telescope is set to launch in 2020 and it will look for these early galaxies as well as stars, planets, and other objects. This new data will help astronomers know more about the formation process of the universe. This can include the first stars that formed, what they looked like, and how they interacted with each other and their environments. These observations may even challenge current theories on how our Universe came to be what it is today. We currently have a theory of cosmology called the Big Bang, but there are a number of problems we cannot answer using this theory alone. JWST’s data may confirm some aspects of this theory while disputing others- or worse yet, disproving it entirely! If one day scientists find that the Big Bang Theory is no longer valid, then the implications would be huge. It could mean major changes in many areas such as physics and astronomy textbooks. But for now, all eyes are on the James Webb Space Telescope and its mission of exploration. With any luck, we'll learn something new about how the universe came to be so vast and complex during its time up in space. And if not, maybe someday another telescope will pick up where JWST left off. It was announced that astronomers made three major discoveries from examining the two images taken by JWST. They were able to see when light began streaming out into space (known as reionization) and found evidence of gravitational waves from black holes merging deep in space (known as BH mergers). 

The third discovery was seeing an abundance of organic molecules, which has been difficult to detect until now. Organic molecules are considered by some to be necessary for life to form on Earth because they contain carbon atoms which life depends on. However, whether or not these molecules actually existed at the time in which they were detected remains to be seen. Because organic molecules are easier to identify than say, gravity waves, this discovery may lead us closer to answering the question: Is there life out there? There are still some big questions that remain unanswered about the beginnings of the universe. There’s just enough information from these pictures to pique your interest, but there isn’t enough to definitively answer anything. Scientists want to use future missions, including JWST, to take a deeper dive into this area. You might be wondering why people care so much about figuring out how everything started; especially since it seems impossible at this point in time. There are lots of reasons why people want answers to fundamental questions such as where did everything come from? The main reason is curiosity. Humans love mysteries and solving puzzles- it makes us feel smarter than we already think we are! Plus, there are practical applications. For example, understanding how the universe began is critical for discovering how to preserve the environment and how to save energy. All of these ideas sound great in theory, but it’s tough to get them done without the basics of how we got here in the first place. This is one of the reasons JWST will be groundbreaking for humanity. Our knowledge about the beginning of time will become greater than ever before, and it’ll probably change things for generations to come. It will also be interesting to see how the new data impacts other things in the universe. Other research fields are waiting eagerly for JWST’s findings, such as medicine and biology. For instance, some biologists believe that it is possible for life to exist on Mars. It is thought that if organisms came from Earth, there is a chance they may still be alive on the red planet! The James Webb Space Telescope may one day confirm or disprove this theory- and we won’t have to wait too long to find out.