CECILIA tagged posts

‘Teenage Galaxies’ are Unusually Hot, Glowing with Unexpected Elements

A Webb telescope image of a galaxy cluster known as “El Gordo,” which is an example of a “cosmic teenager.” Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA

Similar to human teenagers, teenage galaxies are awkward, experience growth spurts and enjoy heavy metal — nickel, that is.

A Northwestern University-led team of astrophysicists has just analyzed the first results from the CECILIA (Chemical Evolution Constrained using Ionized Lines in Interstellar Aurorae) Survey, a program that uses NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study the chemistry of distant galaxies.

According to the early results, so-called “teenage galaxies” — which formed two-to-three billion years after the Big Bang — are unusually hot and contain unexpected elements, like nickel, which are notoriously difficult to observe.

The...

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