Webb Telescope reveals how space finally shed its darkness to adorn brightness

In an intriguing study, astronomers have used the all-powerful James Webb Space Telescope to find out what may have brought the end to the dark times of space and how.

The universe has not been this bright since its inception and it experienced the ‘Dark Ages’ when thick gases would cloud rays of light emanating from the stars.

So, how has our space transformed from a dark regime to a glowing set of millions of galaxies? Researchers used the Webb telescope to find the answer.

To study the phenomenon, researchers pointed the telescope towards a region of the cosmos called Pandora’s Cluster. It is described as a group of galaxies so massive that they warp space, like a bowling ball sitting on a mattress. This creates a curved cosmic lens, magnifying the objects beyond. According to the American space agency NASA, “Light follows that bend instead of travelling in a straight line, distorting and brightening what’s behind the object.”

Using that natural cosmic lens and the power of the telescope, scientists were able to spot some of the faintest, and oldest, galaxies in space.

The scientists observed small galaxies in a form which would have taken shape billions of years ago, due to the time light takes to reach us.

The small galaxies were generating huge amounts of ultraviolet light — enough to break down the dense clouds of gas that had saturated space.

In the later stages, the starlight was no longer clouded by cosmic gases and the spot began to glow as the star became clearer and brighter.

“These cosmic powerhouses collectively emit more than enough energy to get the job done,” Hakim Atek, an astronomer at the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris who led the research, said in a statement by the European Space Agency.

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“Despite their tiny size, these low-mass galaxies are prolific producers of energetic radiation, and their abundance during this period is so substantial that their collective influence can transform the entire state of the universe.”

The study, explaining in detail this transformation, was published in the journal Nature.

(With inputs from agencies)