Unprecedented achievement: James Webb Space Telescope surpasses own milestone yet again, identifying the most distant galaxy ever discovered in the cosmos
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has once again pushed the boundaries of astronomy, observing the most distant galaxy yet detected. Known as MoM-z14, this galaxy emitted light a mere 280 million years after the Big Bang, as confirmed in a new study published on the preprint server arXiv on May 23.
The light from MoM-z14, which traveled for 13.53 billion years, is only now reaching Earth and JWST's sensitive infrared sensors. This discovery extends the observable horizon of the universe to a time just preceding the era of the first stars.
Astrophysicist Charlotte Mason, who wasn't involved in the study, expressed excitement about the find, saying it confirms the existence of very bright galaxies in the universe. Since its launch in 2022, JWST has observed more ancient galaxies than expected, challenging previous theories about the universe's infancy.
Researchers led by Rohan Naidu of MIT identified MoM-z14 by analyzing existing JWST images for potential early galaxies. In April 2025, they directed JWST toward the peculiar object to gather more data.
One method scientists use to estimate an astronomical object's age is through measuring its redshift. As the universe expands, it stretches the light emitted by distant objects to longer, "redder" wavelengths. The greater an object's redshift, the farther and longer its light has traveled, a characteristic that MoM-z14 exhibits with a redshift of 14.44. This exceeds that of the previous record holder, JADES-GS-z14-0, with a redshift of 14.18.
MoM-z14 is relatively compact for the amount of light it produces, with a diameter of about 240 light-years—around 400 times smaller than our own Milky Way. It also contains about as much mass as the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way.
The researchers observed MoM-z14 during a period of rapid star formation and discovered that it is rich in nitrogen compared to carbon, much like globular clusters observed in the Milky Way. This similarity could suggest that star formation occurred in a comparable manner even during the early stages of the universe's development.
As more high-redshift galaxies are identified and studied, scientists anticipate discovering even more candidates with the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, an infrared telescope slated to launch by May 2027. JWST may break its own record again before then, as the authors of the new study suggest that "previously unimaginable redshifts, approaching the era of the very first stars, no longer seem far away."
Science has once again leveraged technology, with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) utilizing its advanced capabilities to study the evolution of the universe. Researchers led by Rohan Naidu of MIT have discovered MoM-z14, a compact yet bright galaxy that emitted light 280 million years after the Big Bang, pushing the observable horizon of the universe back even further.
