In 1888, Simon Newcombe stated that we are probably nearing the limit of all we can know
about the cosmos.
However, modern day astronomy has proved that the possibilities that exist in space are
limitless.
Since the invention of high power telescopes, space exploration is definitely more expository
than it used to be.
Just a few weeks after its launch, the Webb telescope has sent back tons of previously
unknown information about the universe, information which will no doubt cause a paradigm shift
in our knowledge of Physics.
Scientists are concerned about this, and you should be too.
So watch this video to find out more about the newly discovered galaxy and how its existence
could potentially alter our understanding of physics.
The Discovery of Numerous Galaxies
Astronomers made it their objective to study all the data sent by the Webb Telescope with
the hope of making discoveries that could tell us more about the evolution of the universe,
and as expected, they had so much to say.
Of all the curious information captured by the Webb telescope, scientists have found
one particularly intriguing mainly because of how it might redefine some scientific theories.
According to the research published a few weeks ago, Rohan Naidu, an astrophysicist
based at Smithsonian and Harvard, and his team discovered a distant galaxy located over
30 billion light years away from our milky way.
This new discovery was made just a few days after the discovery of the GLASS-z13 galaxy.
Rohan Naidu's team published a paper about the star forming GLASS-z13 which sparked the
interest of the eager scientific community.
This galaxy and as well as surrounding ones could be the most distant galaxies ever seen
due to their high redshift values.
Amidst the fame of the GLASS-z13 and GLASS-z11 galaxies, Rohan Naidu discovered yet another
distant galaxy.
The discovery of CEERS-1749 and its unusual features quickly took the attention off prior
discoveries.
Naidu and his colleagues released another preprint paper detailing this new galaxy.
CEERS-1749 And Its Mysteries.
With each passing decade, our knowledge of astronomy grows deeper.
Telescopes orbiting our planet capture interesting information about space everyday.
The CEERS-1749 is the most recent large-scale discovery made in space and scientists are
constantly trying to unravel the mystery this new galaxy is enshrouded in.
CEERS-1749 is an exceptionally bright galaxy.
In fact, scientists believe that it is the most brilliant galaxy they've ever come across.
Astronomers attribute this brightness to the galaxy's low absolute ultraviolet magnitude,
MUV.
The absolute ultraviolet magnitude, represents the brightness of an object when observed
at a distance of exactly 10 parsecs.
The higher the luminosity of the object, the lower the numerical value of the absolute
ultraviolet magnitude.
For an object which lies 220 million years after the big bang, the degree of luminosity
of the CEERS-1749 galaxy makes scientists ask questions.
As a result, scientists are forced to reconsider the previously given cosmological models;
otherwise, this questions the validity of the big bang theory as the best explanation
for the existence of the galaxies and the universe at large.
Another thing that puzzled astronomers is the stellar mass of this galaxy, especially
if this is viewed in relation to the galaxy's age.
It was estimated that CEERS-1749 has an insane mass of 5 billion solar masses.
In other words, the supermassive galaxy is 5 billion times the mass of the sun.
In comparison with other large galaxies, scientists estimate that CEERS-1749 is five times the
size of GLASS-z13.
In fact, our own galaxy, the milky way, is negligible when compared with CEERS-1749 in
terms of size.
According to the theories put forward by some scientists, the CEERS-1749 is described as
a galaxy with an intense burst of star formation activity.
However, it is quite odd that for a galaxy as old as scientists claim that it is, the
Webb telescope has never captured any information that supports the theory of the rate of star
formation in this galaxy.
Other explanations of the origin of the numerous stars and clouds of dust surrounding CEERS-1749
might contradict the standard principles that physics uses to explain star formation in
the galaxy.
This would force scientists to make a major revision to the existing models of earlier
galaxies and even the overall cosmological framework.
Yet another mind boggling characteristic of the CEERS-1749 galaxy is that the Galaxy seems
to be very distant, but at the same time, it appears to lurk closer to home.
In other words, the galaxy appears to be in two possible places; an observation scientists
are not quite settled about.
However, astronomers are still studying this weird character which they believe will be
more explainable with a little more observation.
Schrodinger's Position And Redshift.
Due to its paradoxical nature, the CEERS-1749 galaxy has been dubbed as "Schrodinger's galaxy
candidate", according to a paper submitted to the preprint repository on August 4th.
How can we explain Schrodinger's shifting position in the galaxy?
There's only one possible explanation, which is the redshift.
The Webb telescope works quite differently from the Hubble, and since it is more technologically
advanced, the Webb telescope has more impressive features.
For example, the Webb telescope can see beyond what light has made visible.
This was the main limitation of the Hubble telescope as it could only produce images
of what was illuminated by visible light.
As for the Webb telescope, it is capable of discerning the invisible thanks to its ability
to read and show the wavelength of every cosmic object within its reach.
As a result of this ability, astronomers could study the data given for Schrodinger to determine
how far it was from our planet and galaxy through the redshift.
How does it work?
Light waves, which travel at an infinite speed, get stretched over time as they move away
from distant galaxies.
This stretching directly affects the light's position in the electromagnetic spectrum,
thus making them appear more red.
The light leaving the Schrodinger galaxy, therefore, does not reach the earth as ultraviolet
light; instead, it shifts to infrared, which is precisely what the Webb telescope detects.
Once the Webb receives the infrared waves, it filters them to the exact infrared wavelength.
Schrodinger's case is quite interesting since, as you flick through the first few photos
of the galaxy, there are a few traces of red.
However, as you proceed, you meet more red with a ghost of galaxies appearing, but the
back of the album depicts a clearly defined object.
Redshift is represented by the parameter z; the higher the z values, the more distant
the object.
Before the discovery of Schrodinger's galaxy, the furthest galaxy was the GLASS-z13, which
had the z value of 13.
But in the case of the Schrodinger, the research team conclusively agreed that its value reached
up to 17.
With a distance of over 33.2 billion light years away from earth, Schrodinger is the
farthest galaxy ever discovered.
Need To Break Physics
CEER-1749 just might be the oldest galaxy in the universe.
However, considering its age, the galaxy should not be as luminous as it is.
Therefore, scientists will have to rethink the present models of how the galaxies were
formed.
The topic of the actual distance of this mysterious planet from earth is another debate between
scientists.
A team of astronomers suggested that the correct z value of the Galaxy should be estimated
at around five, just like its neighboring galaxies, which are about 12.5 light years
from the earth.
Some other astronomers believe that Schrodinger is merely a satellite of its most giant neighbors.
Other scientists came up with a pretty interesting conclusion to explain this galaxy that seemed
so near yet so far.
Jorge Zavala, an astrophysicist at ALMA Japan, and his team concluded that Schrodinger might
be another imposter galaxy under the guise of high redshift wavelength when in the actual
sense, it is a closer galaxy than it appears.
The problem posed by these impostor galaxies is that there are galaxies with redshifts
of 5 masquerading as older galaxies.
Formed Theories
There are many theories to explain these impostor galaxies, most of which are still based on
the former physics theories as scientists are reluctant to break off the previously
set laws.
The first theory explains the reason for the galaxy's high redshift value.
It holds that the dust around the galaxy tends to absorb light in blue wavelengths, leaving
the red wavelengths to pass.
This redness tends to mimic the redness of a galaxy with a higher redshift value.
Astrologers have had to deal with quite a number of these masquerading galaxies.
This theory is something they successfully figured out with the CEERS-DSFG-1, which they
estimated to be about 12.5 billion light years away.
The Other Side Of Impostor Galaxies
Regardless of the riddles they pose, there might be a bright side to the discovery of
these impostor galaxies.
Discovering the Schrodinger galaxy might help to better understand the history of galaxies,
their origin, evolution and how they became the way they are.
The challenges the cosmos would present to astronomers and cosmologists are always the
best opportunities for them to learn new things about the universe, for example galaxies such
as Schrodinger were previously thought to be rare.
Still, as the Webb telescope continues to send new data every other day, physics might
be rearranged, or previous theories could be dismissed.
As Zavala said, "if we found a large number of these galaxies with JWST, the observations
would start to be in tension with the models."
What's the parting shot?
The Webb telescope has immensely helped in the study of the intensity of light emitted
by CEERS-1749.
However, there's a need for more observations and research to reach a conclusive answer
about the galaxy's position and therefore, its redshift value.
The information we have now is all there is and there are still so many unanswered questions.
It might take some time but science will definitely provide us with a much better explanation.
What's your take?
Let us know in the comments below.
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