In the Universe’s youth, many galaxies experienced a period of intense star formation.
Today, some galaxies, such as our own Milky Way, still form new stars, albeit not as rapidly. Other galaxies have stopped forming stars altogether.
This new work can help astronomers understand the reasons behind these different trajectories.
“We’re trying to understand how galaxies grew and changed over the 14 billion years of cosmic history,” said Dr. Allison Strom, an astronomer at Northwestern University.
“Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, our program targets ‘teenage’ galaxies when they were going through a messy time of growth spurts and change.”