James Webb Telescope May Have Spotted First Generation of Stars in the Universe

Astronomers might have spotted the first stars of the universe, called Population III stars, orbiting 13 billion light-years away in a distant cluster known as LAP1-B using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Those primordial stars, believed to have arisen shortly after the Big Bang, might be a million times heavier than the sun, and they lit up a billion times as bright. We might learn important lessons from them about the birth of the earliest galaxies, how hydrogen and helium turned into dark matter, with metals later fanning everywhere across the cosmos.

James Webb Telescope Detects Possible Population III Stars, Illuminating Early Galaxy Formation

According to a report in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the team employed JWST's infrared features and the gravitational lensing of the foreground galaxy cluster MACS J0416, which magnified the light from LAP1-B, enabling them to observe the ancient stars. Spectral analysis revealed emission lines indicating a population of very-high-energy photons, and the estimated masses of the stars fit what theoretical models suggest for Population III members.

Population III stars were born in small, low-metallicity clusters hosting only a few massive stars, and provide clues to the early galaxy formation and metal enrichment of primordial gas. These stars might be building blocks for larger galaxies as well, making it possible for astronomers to know more about the structure and evolution of the universe's first cosmic systems.

JWST's 6.5-meter mirror scooped up stretched infrared light from faint early stars, employed sophisticated instruments, and took advantage of gravitational lensing to put theories about the cosmic formation that date back decades to the test.

If confirmed, the detection reveals the first glimpse of pristine Population III stars and could help trace early galaxy formation, as well as our universe's first billion years, lead author Eli Visbal mentioned.