Unexpected outcomes in space research

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Pagan (STScI)

This image produced from the Webb Space Telescope was issued on January 11, 2023. NCG 346 is located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy close to our Milky Way. A star forming region sweeps across the scene, dominated by hues of purple. Tones of yellow outline the region's irregular shape. Many bright stars dominate the scene, as well as countless smaller stars scattered in the image's background. Distance from Earth: 210,000 light years. Constellation: Tucana.

Astronomers probed this region because the conditions and amount of metals within the Magellanic Cloud resemble those seen in galaxies billions of years ago, during an era in the Universe's history known as 'cosmic noon,' when star formation was at its peak. Some 2 to 3 billion years after the Big Bang, galaxies were forming stars at a furious rate. The fireworks of star formation happening then still shape the galaxies we see around us today.

Since dust grains in space are composed mostly of metals, scientists expected that there would only be small amounts of dust, and that it would be hard to detect. But this new data from Webb reveals just the opposite.

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