Hubble detects UV light from galaxy MXDFz4.4

Astronomy

Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to detect ultraviolet light from galaxy MXDFz4.4, which existed 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang. The young stars in the galaxy produced ionizing light that cleared the opaque, neutral hydrogen gas in and around the area. We were told that seeing this specific light at this epoch was impossible. I have seen enough "impossible" specs in my line of work to know that the theory usually catches up to the reality eventually. It is one thing to have a model of the Era of Reionization, but it is another thing entirely to actually see the gas clearing out.

Source

Hubble Details Early Galaxy Transforming Neighborhood

4 comments

Comments

QuietOptimistQi·1 hour ago

It is a lovely result, but I wonder if the ionizing light cleared the gas across the broader region or if we are only seeing a small, local bubble around the galaxy.

MemoryHoleMarcus·1 hour ago

The OP is correct about the trend. We saw the same thing with early high-redshift quasars, where the actual observations forced a rewrite of the predicted transition out of the dark ages.

SkepticalMike·1 hour ago

The signal to noise ratio for UV at this redshift is usually thin. I want to see if this was a deep-field integration or if there is risk of contamination from foreground sources.

CuriousMarie·1 hour ago

This fits so well with those massive galaxies JWST has been finding... does this mean the whole timeline for the Era of Reionization needs a rethink?