Recently astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to look at the structures of dust and gas which create stars in nearby galaxies. Now, some of the researchers have shared more about the findings and what they mean for our understanding of how galaxies form and evolve.
“We’re studying 19 of our closest analogues to our own galaxy,” explained one of the researchers, Erik Rosolowsky of the University of Alberta, in a statement. “In our own galaxy, we can’t make a lot of these discoveries because we’re stuck inside it.” “At 21 micrometers [the infrared wavelength used for the images collected], if you look at a galaxy you will see all of those dust grains heated with light from the stars,” said Hamid Hassani, another of the researchers. “The infrared light is really key to tracing the cold and distant universe.”
“The age of these [stellar] populations is very young. They’re really just starting to produce new stars and they are really active in the formation of stars,” said Hassani.